Which way do planes land at SFO?

95-98% of the time, winds blow from the west which means aircraft at SFO have to arrive and land facing west. This is called the West Plan. Less than 5% of the time, aircraft follow the Southeast Plan, where planes take off to the east and land facing south.

What are the runways at SFO?

In this configuration, Runways 28L and 28R are the primary arrival runways and Runways 1L and 1R are the primary departure runways. However, long-haul heavy aircraft depart primarily from Runways 28L and 28R, which are the longest runways at the Airport. The West Plan is referred to as the “28-1” runway configuration.

Is SFO hard to land at?

4 p.m. Aviation experts say San Francisco International Airport is one of the more difficult airports to land planes. Longtime American Airlines pilot Chris Manno said Wednesday the runways are close together, requiring extra attention when landing.

How thick is a military runway?

The main portion of the 8,900 foot long runway is 14.5 inches thick and widens to 18 inches at the outer edges.

How are the runways at San Francisco numbered?

SFO’s runways are numbered based off compass headings, but we drop the last digit. For example, Runway 28 is really 280°, but we drop the zero. Our compass headings almost align with north, south, east and west; our numbers are skewed 10 degrees to the right.

What makes an airplane fly up or down San Francisco Bay?

Factors that determine which plan aircraft use include: wind direction, weather, and construction or runway maintenance. To avoid populated residential areas at night, eastbound aircraft can fly up or down the San Francisco Bay on a nighttime procedure/path known as the NIITE.

Where do SFO flights go during the day?

During the day, these SFO flights fly across the San Francisco Bay toward Oakland International Airport and the Oakland Hills. Flight procedures are basically a playbook of flight paths for pilots written by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The playbook provides information such as:

When do flights slow down in San Francisco?

Operations slow down at night; less two dozen flights happen between 1:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. Aircraft noise can seem louder at night than during the day because there is less ambient or background noise such as vehicular traffic.