1 in 4 flights delayed, 80 cancelled at SFO due to smoke

Smoke-filled skies cover San Francisco on October 12, 2017. Smoke-filled skies cover San Francisco on October 12, 2017. Photo: Instagram / Onthebarefoot Photo: Instagram / Onthebarefoot Image 1 of / 34 Caption Close 1 in 4 flights delayed, 80 cancelled at SFO due to smoke 1 / 34 Back to Gallery

Smoke drifting south from the fires blazing in Wine Country prompted a ground delay program at San Francisco International Airport on Wednesday. Eighty flights were canceled, according to airport spokesman Doug Yakel.

"About one in four of our flights are experiencing delays right now because of the reduced visibility, and those delays are averaging 60 to 75 minutes," said Yakel.

The canceled flights are evenly split between arrivals and departures, according to Yakel.

Derek Duong, 23, was one affected traveller scheduled to fly to San Francisco from Philadelphia International Airport on United Airlines Wednesday evening.

Duong streamed some jazz music on his iPhone as he waited for news on when his flight would take off. It was scheduled to leave at 6:15 p.m. EST, but passengers were concerned it could be delayed for several hours because of the SFO ground delay program.

Duong called the delay "super inconvenient." He had been at the airport for about two hours, and even after his plane lands in San Francisco, he'll have to drive another three hours to where he goes to school, California State University at Chico.

He said he was already aware of at least one co-worker who had to be evacuated because of the fire.

"Comparing my flight delay to what they had to go through, it doesn't seem that big of a deal," Duong said, propping his sneakers up on his backpack and settling into his seat in the waiting area.

At Mineta San Jose International Airport, the smoke has not caused delays, but that might change if visibility gets worse, according to airport spokeswoman Rosemary Barnes.

"Air quality is certainly reduced here, and it's very breezy, but we've had no flight impacts today," said Barnes.

As of Wednesday afternoon, visibility was at 2 miles, Barnes said. If it gets down to a quarter of a mile, it will start to impact flights.

Oakland International Airport was similarly unaffected Wednesday.

"We've had no operational impacts due to the fire," said Keonnis Taylor, an airport spokeswoman.

Closer to the fires, the Sonoma County Airport was closed Monday and Tuesday.

At SFO, it's unclear if the delays will continue in the coming days. On Thursday morning, the FAA will make a decision on whether to implement another ground control program, according to Yakel.

"We did not have a delay program yesterday because conditions were more favorable, skies were more clear around the airport. Today we're seeing that smoke and haze," said Yakel. "Every day is essentially a reset button."

Filipa Ioannou is an SFGATE staff writer. Email her at fioannou@sfchronicle.com and follow her on Twitter