Hundreds of travelers faced severe disruptions at one of the United States' busiest airports on Friday, December 26, 2025, as a combination of adverse weather and a security incident led to widespread flight delays and cancellations.
Weather and Security Scare Cause Airport Havoc
The San Francisco International Airport (SFO) experienced a day of significant operational challenges. The primary culprit was powerful wind, which severely impacted air traffic. According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), arriving flights were hit with average delays of one hour and 44 minutes due to the dangerous weather conditions.
In a separate but simultaneous incident, the departures lobby at Terminal 1 was shut down for over an hour on Friday morning. Airport authorities attributed the closure to "police activity." Local news outlets reported that the terminal was evacuated around 8 a.m. after police identified a suspicious package. The area was eventually secured and reopened to the public at approximately 10:45 a.m. local time.
Scale of the Disruption
The impact on air travel was substantial. Data from the flight tracking service FlightAware revealed the full extent of the chaos:
- 432 flights were delayed, with the majority being incoming aircraft.
- 26 flights were outright canceled.
This dual crisis of extreme weather and an unplanned terminal evacuation created a perfect storm of travel misery, stranding passengers and causing ripple effects across airline schedules.
Implications for Travelers
The events at SFO highlight the vulnerability of major travel hubs to both natural and security-related disruptions. For passengers, the day served as a stark reminder to build extra flexibility into holiday travel plans and to stay updated with real-time information from their airlines during such incidents. While the police activity was resolved without further incident, it compounded the delays already inflicted by the strong winds, leading to a day of unprecedented congestion at the airport.
