Passenger airlines serving San Francisco International displayed at an American Association of Airport Executives event in Atlanta.
ATLANTA—San Francisco International Airport (SFO) is continuing to see strong increases in international traffic, which has surpassed pre-pandemic numbers and is growing at a much faster pace than the United Airlines hub’s domestic throughput, according to senior executive at the airport.
SFO was particularly affected by the pandemic and immediate post-pandemic period given its high level of international traffic and exposure to Asia, which took longer than other world regions to ease pandemic-related travel restrictions. While the airport’s domestic traffic remains below 2019 levels, “our international traffic is almost 10% over 2019 numbers, but that's with only half our China flying” compared to pre-pandemic levels, according to SFO CFO and CCO Kevin Bumen.
Speaking at the annual American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE) conference and exposition held June 8-10 in Atlanta, Bumen said SFO has “grown by really all measures on the international side, but that's still with just a fraction of our China traffic ... The reciprocal rights with China aren't what they once were.”
He added: “San Francisco was the hardest hit large hub airport in the U.S. [during the pandemic and its aftermath] with the amount of international traffic that we have and the shape and size of our network. We spent several years in the recovery phase.”
SFO handled 52.3 million passengers in 2024, up 4.1% on 2023. Domestic traffic increased just 1.1% year-over-year to 36.4 million, while international passengers rose 12% to 15.8 million. Passengers traveling to and from Asia and Middle East grew 21.4% year-over-year in 2024 to 6.8 million.
SFO is served by over 50 passenger airlines and is connected nonstop to more than 50 international destinations. International traffic made up 30% of the airport’s total passenger traffic in 2024. In contrast, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport’s 2024 passenger total of 108.1 million was made up of 13.5% international travelers.
Transpacific LCCs
With numerous Asia markets already covered on its route map, SFO is seeing international passenger numbers boosted by low-cost competition on major transpacific routes.
Bumen offered three examples: South Korea’s Air Premia in 2024 started operating 4X-weekly Boeing 787 flights to SFO from Seoul Incheon Airport (ICN); Zipair, a LCC subsidiary of Japan Airlines (JAL), last year opened daily 787 service between Tokyo Narita Airport (NRT) and SFO; and Taiwan’s Starlux Airlines in late 2023 commenced service between Taipei's Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (TPE) and SFO with an A350-900, ramping up to daily flights on the route in 2024.
All three routes are highly competitive. On the ICN-SFO route, Air Premia challenges Asiana Airlines, Korean Air and United. On the NRT-SFO service, Zipair competes with All Nippon Airways and United, each of which operates daily between SFO and both NRT and Tokyo Haneda Airport. Zipair parent JAL also flies daily between SFO and both Tokyo airports.
“The interesting thing about those three airlines is they took markets in the Pacific that have been flown by long-standing legacy carriers and put a different business model on those routes, with some low-cost competition,” Bumen said. “That has had a stimulating effect on those routes. We have more seats across the Pacific into some of these cities than we certainly had before COVID and a much different level of competition on those routes.”
Taiwan Tension
Bumen said SFO’s high exposure to Taipei is a concern given geopolitical tensions in the region. Taipei is the airport’s top international destination and is in relatively close proximity to key markets Japan and South Korea.
According to the airport, over 38% of SFO’s international traffic goes to Asia, topping second place Europe (around 27%).
“I think the biggest geopolitical issue [for SFO] in my mind right now is a major disruption in the South China Sea with Taiwan,” Bumen said. “We've done some modeling on that—of what that does to our network across the Pacific—and there's versions that are scarier than others. But it is what's potentially going to happen, and we are challenging ourselves to think more and more about that, so we're not just building the business as if nothing's happening.”
He said SFO is increasingly focusing future network development efforts on “emerging markets in Southeast Asia, India and Latin America.”
While some of that strategy is driven by concerns about China and Taiwan, the airport’s map of connections—especially to major markets both domestically and internationally—is already comprehensive.
“San Francisco is in a unique position in that when you look at the constellation of carriers in our network, we're running out of airlines and places to go,” Bumen said. “When you look at what's possible today, what market has a business case for [SFO] and who could fly the route, that list is getting shorter and shorter. There will always be new routes and new markets. But that list has gotten a lot shorter.”
SFO’s location abutting the San Francisco Bay also constrains potential growth. Of the 5,100 acres comprising airport property, around 2,810 acres are San Francisco Bay tidal waters, according to SFO. The airport has four runways and no room for any more.
SFO estimates the airfield can handle around 500,000 annual aircraft movements. In 2024, there were 386,507 movements, equal to 77% of maximum capacity.
“In terms of the overall growth of the airport as we approach our capacity in the coming years, we're going to need to be very, very thoughtful about where we focus to grow,” Bumen said. He noted airlines are “moving more passengers with fewer aircraft movements on the airfield, which is a great efficiency gain.”
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