Rain and wind delay hundreds of flights at SFO with Thanksgiving travel rush underway

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — As many as 80 million Americans are expected to travel for the Thanksgiving holiday by air and on the roads.

Over the weekend, there were more than 1,200 flights delayed in and out of San Francisco International Airport.

Monday, SFO is operating on a ground delay through 10:59 p.m. that started at 8:30 a.m., due to the rain and wind.

MORE: Bay Area travelers get ready to take to air, roads for Thanksgiving as more storms approach

At least 245 flights have been delayed as of Monday at 10 a.m., with 17 canceled.

“It’s not only the reduced visibility that comes from the rain,” SFO spokesperson Doug Yakel said. “It’s also the fact that the winds are blowing in a different direction than they normally do. You always want to be taking off and landing in the direction of the wind. So the combination of these two things, the rain and the wind, are why we’re seeing delays here at SFO today.”

Sixteen-year-old Paulo Rodriguez and his family are traveling from San Francisco to Mexico for the holiday. They left to the airport two and a half hours before their flight, in anticipation of the crowds.

“It’s just a lot of waiting but I know it will be worth it once we’re there,” Rodriguez said.

American, Delta, and United say this will be their busiest season ever.

MORE: Thanksgiving travel and traffic: Best and worst times to drive and fly

Yakel said they expect 6.3 million people to go through the airport from Thanksgiving to New Year. That’s up 15% over last year.

“But it’s still about 97% of what we saw back in 2019, so we’re not quite back at those pre-pandemic levels but close,” Yakel said.

Jill Baradat of Novato is flying from SFO to Dallas.

“I want to go see my dad,” Baradat said. “I miss my dad so it’s the first time I’ve traveled on Thanksgiving in probably a decade.”

If you’re one of the millions of Americans driving to your Thanksgiving destination, Monday was best to get on the road before 11 a.m. The worst time to drive is between 1 and 5 p.m. Tuesday, you should get on the road before 10 a.m. as the worst time to travel is between 1 and 7 p.m.

Yakel said they expect some residual delays due to the weather Monday and Tuesday, but they hope their on-time performance gets better as the weather improves.