San Francisco International Airport (SFO) experienced multiple FAA ground stops on November 9, 2026. The first major ground stop began shortly before 8 a.m. Pacific Time and ended around 9:15 a.m., followed by additional ground stops at approximately 10:28 a.m. and shortly before noon.
By approximately 10:30 a.m., 187 flights were delayed and three canceled at SFO. Visibility dropped to about 0.13 miles near 8 a.m., with some arriving flights facing average delays of 63 minutes. The National Weather Service issued a dense fog advisory warning visibility could be as low as a quarter of a mile for the San
Francisco Bay area.
The FAA identified dense fog and low cloud ceilings as the primary causes of restrictions. These conditions reduced visibility and required increased spacing between aircraft and use of low-visibility operating procedures, limiting airport capacity. Ground delay programs held selected departures at other U.S. airports to control inbound traffic to San Francisco.
Flights departing other U.S. airports bound for SFO were grounded despite clear weather at their origins due to FAA ground stops implemented to prevent congestion in San Francisco’s airspace. Passengers traveling to or connecting through San Francisco faced delays and several cancellations on the morning of
November 9.
Ground stops are temporary air traffic management measures, not airport closures. The FAA’s traffic management information confirmed that evolving weather conditions caused the operational changes throughout the day. Surface visibility improved later in the morning, but low clouds persisted, continuing to affect flight operations into the afternoon.
