A police incident at a major US airport caused chaos, resulting in over 200 flight delays. San Francisco International Airport (SFO) faced disruptions after a suspicious package prompted the closure of part of Terminal 1 Departures Level. SFO advised travelers to avoid the departures level of domestic terminals due to the ongoing police activity. The airport encountered operational strains and weather challenges, leading to more than 190 flight delays and 20 cancellations, with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reporting an average delay of around an hour and a half.
The San Francisco Police Department dispatched a bomb disposal team following reports of a suspicious package at Terminal 1. The area was evacuated for investigation, with additional SFPD resources like the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit (EOD) on the scene to assist in handling the incident. Terminal 1 was fully reopened approximately two hours later, with SFO confirming that the police activity had been resolved. Details regarding the nature of the suspicious package have not been disclosed.
Passengers, including Raven Davis traveling to Nigeria for a wedding, expressed their distress over the situation, with Davis stating, “I am trying to hold it together because I know crying won’t help me fix the situation.” Another affected traveler, Victor Barbosa, mentioned potential delays at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) while uncertain about connecting flights to Sao Paulo.
The incident unfolded during a period of increased holiday travel at SFO, with projections indicating a 4% surge in passenger traffic this year. Over six million individuals were expected to travel through the airport by New Year’s Day. Additionally, the airport was already under an FAA ground delay due to strong winds, limiting arrivals to 25 flights per hour initially and later increasing to 28 flights per hour from Thursday into Friday. Weather-related delays were anticipated to persist until midnight, as reported by AC7 News.