The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued two consecutive ground stops at San Francisco International Airport (SFO) on the morning of November 12, 2026. The first stoppage ended before 11 a.m. Pacific Time, while the second began at 10:12 a.m., initially scheduled until 11:30 a.m. and later extended through 1 p.m., according to operational reports.
Dense fog along the Bay Area shoreline reduced visibility at SFO to just over one-tenth of a mile. This low visibility caused multiple flight go-arounds and forced the FAA to halt arrivals twice before 11 a.m. Visibility later briefly improved to about half a mile by
9:23 a.m., but a persistent low cloud deck continued to limit airport operations. At times, only aircraft equipped for Category II and Category III instrument approaches were permitted to land, restricting the number of arrivals.
FlightAware recorded 187 delayed flights and three cancellations at SFO due to these conditions. Average arrival delays amounted to approximately 63 minutes. The FAA implemented a ground-delay program after the first two ground stops and planned to maintain this program through 1:59 p.m., extending operational restrictions into the afternoon.
The dense fog and low cloud cover at SFO caused temporary disruptions in the airport’s arrival
and departure schedules. The National Weather Service forecasted continued fog and low clouds overnight and into November 13, indicating that similar operational constraints and potential ground stops could occur again. FAA updates for early November 13 indicated no destination-specific delays at SFO, with general delays limited to 15 minutes or less.
