Runway maintenance prompts cancellations at San Francisco International Airport

SAN FRANCISCO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (KGO) -- A runway at San Francisco International Airport that was closed due to an ongoing construction project has reopened, but passengers are still dealing with delays and flight cancellations.

Crew have been working to install new LED lights on the center of a major runway called 28L and repaving it. As a result, it was closed Friday night through most of Monday morning.

People planning on traveling in the next couple of months are being warned these types of delays and cancellations on weekends will continue until at least mid-June.

Morgan Hill resident Linda Okenquist was headed to Palm Springs for vacation on Monday. Her flight was supposed to leave at midday, but she was re-booked on a super early flight. "We never really got a clear picture of why the flight was cancelled other than air traffic control problem," Okenquist said.

Some passengers got an alert Monday morning on their cellphone warning them about flight cancellations due to air control issues.

Airlines knew about the scheduled runway closure and when it happened it created a travel nightmare for passengers.

According to Flight Aware, at least 416 flights were delayed or cancelled at SFO on Saturday. And on Sunday, at least 651 flights were reported delayed or cancelled. "We're prohibited by federal law from dictating how airlines schedule their flights. Our goal is to provide that information to airlines and let them decide whether or not they want to reduce their flight schedule in advance," SFO spokesperson Doug Yakel said.

The hope is to complete the runway construction projects before the busy summer flying season begins. "No, this is not fun. This stress is not fun. Trying to get home is not fun, to work is not fun," Southern California resident Doreena Wong said.

The best advice is to check your airline before flying and possibly look at flying out of Oakland or San Jose on the weekends.

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