Two of San Francisco International Airport’s four runways were closed for multiple hours Thursday after crews found a foot-deep depression in one of them, airport officials said.
The closure resulted in at least 300 flights being delayed, airport officials said.
The pothole, which was initially described as a “12-inch pavement depression,” was found on runway 28L near the intersection with runway 1R during an inspection early Thursday morning, according to SFO spokesman Doug Yakel.
“Over two-thirds of all of the aircraft that operate at SFO, use that particular intersection,” Yakel said.
In raw numbers that means more than 800 jets use the intersection daily, and by early afternoon hundreds of flights were delayed, on average, more than an hour.
But some were delayed much longer. Jenisa Jumawan sat with her family in Seattle watching their visit to the Bay Area get pushed back further and further.
“So, we were just standing their waiting, and like getting confused,” Jumawan told NBC Bay Area.
Antonio Drolapas said the delay meant he would arrived for his 40th birthday celebration in Las Vegas a few hours later. “Two hours, unbelievable. It was supposed to leave at 2:30, and now it’s moved to 4:30,” Drolapas said.
“They said they’re going to put me on an Uber with some people I don’t know, and they’re going to take us down to the San Jose airport,” said Tony Lioci of Berkeley.
Both runways were initially closed so crews could fix the pothole. All runways were reopened by 2 p.m.
“There’s a snowball effect that goes on throughout the day, so the quicker they can get it open — the quicker they can minimize that snowball,” said NBC Bay Area aviation analyst Mike McCarron.
Fortunately, crews had a couple of things in their favor.
They were able to get fresh asphalt quickly for the repairs, and the cooler temperatures helped the new pavement set faster than it would on a hot day.
The airport plans to replace crumbling concrete under this section of runway in September and hopes the work will help avoid this chronic delay problem.
Residual delays are expected to continue throughout the day, according to the airport. Travelers are encouraged to check with their airline about the status of their flights.
Earlier this year, the NBC Bay Area Investigative Unit reported that SFO is sinking.
Built on landfill, the unsettled ground beneath SFO has long created problems for the airport operations staff. But with an increase in runway traffic over the last decade, the surface cracks caused by subsidence are creating a problem for travelers forced to endure flight delays, according to aviation sources and records reviewed by the Investigative Unit.
Photo Credit: NBC Bay Area
Source: NBC Bay Area
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