Travelers at San Francisco International Airport (SFO) experienced a disruption to their post-Christmas travel plans when a suspicious package led to the temporary closure of the Terminal 1 departures lobby. The airport alerted passengers via social media, advising those without checked baggage to reroute to the International Terminal for security screening. #SFOALERT noted the police activity and urged to avoid the domestic terminals.
#SFOALERT: Terminal 1 Departures Level lobby is closed due to police activity. Please avoid the departures level of the domestic terminals. Departing passengers with no bags to check, drop off at International Terminal and use the security checkpoints there to get to your gates.
— San Francisco International Airport (SFO) ✈️ (@flySFO) December 26, 2025
The situation evolved throughout the morning, with the San Francisco Police detailing the emergency response. According to a Twitter post by the San Francisco Police, officers responded to the scene at approximately 8:15 am and evacuated the area to investigate the suspicious package. They also called for additional resources, including the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) unit, to assist with the incident.
As reported by KRON4, the disruption resulted in upwards of 190 flight delays and roughly 20 cancellations. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) also reported average delays of about an hour and a half, with wind conditions contributing to additional ground delays.
Travelers caught in the midst of the delays expressed their frustration over the impact on their plans. "I am dying inside trying to hold it together because I know, like sitting here crying about it won’t help me fix the situation," Raven Davis, a traveler trying to reach Nigeria, told KRON4. Victor Barbosa, impacted by the delays, added, “I’m probably going to be stuck at LAX for a while then because I’m not sure if they have another flight to Sao Paulo because they have like a daily flight, I believe."
Later in the day, SFO announced that Terminal 1 had fully reopened and that all ticket counters were operational. Despite the resolution of the police activity, the airport advised giving extra time for travel due to continued heavy roadway congestion. They recommended considering the International Terminal for drop-offs and taking AirTrain to navigate the airport. The update was shared on the SFO’s Twitter, along with a thank you note to passengers for their patience during the incident.
