SFO affected by flight delays, cancellations amid nationwide air traffic service disruption

The Federal Aviation Administration announced Friday that short-haul flights to San Francisco International Airport would be delayed due to staffing shortages amid the federal government shutdown. The delays happened on the same day airlines began to reduce their flight schedules to meet the agency’s new policy.

Flights to SFO within 1,000 nautical miles, which included all flights within California and as far as Colorado, were briefly suspended before resuming later in the morning with major delays. Aircraft were not allowed to depart to SFO because of a reported lack of air traffic controllers needed to safely direct them.