The FAA kept San Francisco International Airport inside a formal ground delay program on the night of August 9 into early August 10, 2026, with an average assigned delay of 78 minutes for arrivals covered by the plan.
If you are flying into SFO from the contiguous United States tonight, recheck your airline app before you leave for the airport, protect tight connections, and do not treat a green departure board at your origin as proof that San Francisco is moving at a normal arrival rate.
- Airport: San Francisco International (SFO).
- Program window: Arrivals estimated 7:00 p.m. to 11:59 p.m. PDT August 9.
- Average delay: 78 minutes; maximum listed 159 minutes.
- Who is in scope: Contiguous U.S. departures into SFO, plus selected Canadian origins.
- Traveler action: Recheck status, pad connections, use rebooking tools early.
What the FAA program says
According to the FAA ATCSCC advisory ADVZY 155 for SFO, traffic managers issued a CDM ground delay program for San Francisco arrivals. The advisory lists arrivals estimated from 10/0200Z through 10/0659Z, which is 7:00 p.m. through 11:59 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time on August 9, 2026.
The same advisory posts a program rate of 36 arrivals, an average delay of 78 minutes, and a maximum delay of 159 minutes. The delay assignment mode is UDP. The flight filter covers all contiguous United States departures into SFO, with a departure scope of 1,400 nautical miles. Canadian airports listed as included are Edmonton (CYEG), Vancouver (CYVR), and Calgary (CYYC).
Impact language on the advisory is coded as OTHER / OTHER, with comments noting arrivals and departures on runways 28L and 28R, low pop up traffic, a 45 minute exempt time, and procedural compliance. That is enough for travelers to treat the night as a structured arrival rationing event, not a random single flight delay.
Live national airspace status boards also showed SFO under a ground delay banner with the same 78 minute average during the evening window. Programs can extend, shrink, or cancel as airport acceptance rates change, so the advisory time bounds are the starting plan, not a guarantee that your specific flight will move exactly 78 minutes.
How a ground delay program hits real itineraries
A ground delay program holds aircraft at their departure airports so they do not stack endlessly in the air near San Francisco. Your flight may sit at the gate, push late, or take a revised wheels up time even when weather at your origin looks fine. The passenger experience is often a longer origin wait rather than a long airborne hold, but missed connections and late evening rebooking risk still transfer to SFO.
Because the filter is origin based for contiguous U.S. departures, a Dallas, Denver, Chicago, Los Angeles, Seattle, or Phoenix bank into SFO can take delay even if Bay Area skies look quiet on a consumer weather app. Canadian travelers from Vancouver, Calgary, or Edmonton should make the same check.
International long haul arrivals outside the contiguous U.S. filter are not automatically inside every domestic GDP row, but they still share the same runway acceptance rate once they are in the SFO approach stream. Do not assume that an intercontinental ticket is immune if the airport is metering arrivals hard.
Connection math is where people lose the night. A 45 minute domestic bank through SFO that looked legal when you booked can collapse if the inbound leg absorbs most of a 78 minute average delay. If your outbound is the last flight of the night, treat the program as a rebooking decision now rather than a gamble after the first delay message.
What SFO already warned travelers about in 2026
This night program sits on top of a known capacity squeeze. SFO has publicly warned that FAA changes to arrival spacing, combined with runway construction work, can delay a substantial share of arriving flights. The airport’s own SFO current travel alerts page describes increased separation between landing aircraft and ongoing runway closures as a reason passengers should expect longer arrival delays on busy banks.
Deep Arrival has already documented the structural side of that story in earlier coverage of SFO arrival rate cuts and runway work. Tonight’s advisory is a separate, dated traffic management action: a specific CDM program with published average and maximum delays for the August 9 evening window. It is not a rewrite of the permanent spacing change, and it is not the same stream as today’s San Diego, Las Vegas, Chicago, or Tampa day programs.
That distinction matters for archive clarity. If you searched for San Diego’s August 9 ground delay post, you found a different airport market. SFO’s 78 minute average and 28L/28R procedural notes are the facts that belong on this card.
For destination planning after you clear the airport, Deep Arrival’s San Francisco things to do guide remains useful for same city itineraries once bags and ground transport are under control. Airport delay recovery and city sightseeing are different jobs; do not leave for Alcatraz or a dinner reservation until your inbound aircraft has a trustworthy new arrival estimate.
What to do before you leave for the airport
Open the airline app and the official flight status page for your exact flight number. Look for a controlled departure time, expected arrival revision, or rebooking offer. Screenshot the original itinerary and any delay codes the airline posts so customer service later has a time stamped record.
If you have a same night connection at SFO under about 90 minutes, ask the airline now whether a protected alternate exists. Overnight hotel and meal policies vary by carrier and by whether the delay is considered within airline control. A traffic management program is often treated as an air traffic delay, so know your contract of carriage before you assume a free hotel.
Travelers who can move to an earlier bank tomorrow should weigh that against tonight’s maximum listed delay of 159 minutes. People who must travel tonight should add buffer to ground transport at the origin and avoid checking a bag if a same day connection is already tight, provided the airline still allows that change without a fare penalty.
Bay Area meet and greet drivers should track the revised arrival, not the schedule printed on the ticket. Cell phone lots and rideshare staging fill when multiple banks land late together. Build an extra half hour into pickup plans when the average program delay is already over an hour.
Business travelers with early Monday meetings in the Bay Area should decide tonight whether a delayed arrival still works or whether a rebooked morning flight with a hotel near the origin is safer. Present the decision as a clock problem, not a weather guess. The FAA has already published the metering numbers.
If your trip continues beyond San Francisco, keep the structural context handy as well. Deep Arrival’s earlier report on SFO flight delays after the 2026 operational changes explains why arrival capacity is tighter this year even on nights without a named GDP. Use that background for multi day planning; use tonight’s advisory for the immediate recheck.
| If you… | What to do |
|---|---|
| Fly into SFO tonight from the contiguous U.S. | Recheck airline status before curb drop off and expect a long gate hold. |
| Hold a same night connection under 90 minutes | Call or message the airline now for a protected later or next day option. |
| Depart from YVR, YYC, or YEG toward SFO | Treat the Canadian inclusion list as in scope and verify controlled times. |
| Are meeting an inbound passenger at SFO | Track revised arrival times and wait in cell phone or rideshare staging. |
| Can shift the trip to Monday morning | Compare tonight’s 78 minute average risk against a clean morning bank. |
- Leave later only after status clears: Do not depart for the origin airport on a stale schedule.
- Protect the last flight out: Last bank connections through SFO are the highest rebooking risk.
- Document delay codes: Screenshots help if you later need hotel, meal, or credit requests.
- Separate structural from tonight: Long term SFO capacity issues remain even after this GDP ends.
Confirmed for this card are the FAA advisory window, the 78 minute average, the 159 minute maximum, the 36 arrival program rate, the contiguous U.S. filter, and the three named Canadian airports. Unknowns include how long the program remains active after the published end time and how each airline will staff rebooking desks during the late bank.
How long is the SFO ground delay on August 9?
The FAA advisory lists an average delay of 78 minutes and a maximum of 159 minutes for the evening arrival program. Your flight can land above or below the average.
Which flights are inside the program?
The advisory covers contiguous United States departures into SFO, plus Edmonton, Vancouver, and Calgary. Always confirm your exact flight in the airline app.
Is this the same as SFO runway construction delays?
No. Construction and wider FAA spacing are longer running capacity issues. This post covers the dated August 9 evening ground delay program with published delay numbers.
Should I leave for the airport on time?
Leave only after you see a current controlled departure or boarding status. A full hour early can still strand you at the gate if the program has not released your flight.
