SFO projects slow multi‑year recovery; airport received $232M federal support so far

San Francisco International Airport Director Ivar Sotero told the Budget & Appropriations Committee on May 5 that SFO’s recovery will be multiyear and that the airport has used a mix of debt restructuring, federal funding and capital deferrals to preserve cash.

Sotero said SFO carried roughly 29,000,000 enplanements before the pandemic and forecasts finishing the fiscal year near 8,500,000. "We were at about 29,000,000 enplanements pre pandemic... our forecast to finish this fiscal year is about 8,500,000," he said. He described international traffic as the hardest hit segment — down to roughly 10% of pre‑COVID international volumes — and explained that international passenger spending drives a disproportionate share of concession revenue and annual service payments to the city.

To preserve liquidity, SFO deferred about $2,000,000,000 of its $8,000,000,000 capital program and has reduced operating and capital budgets while protecting core workforce and seeking federal partners for large projects such as the Seawall. Sotero told the committee SFO had secured about $232,000,000 from federal relief so far and expects to pursue more federal or state support where possible.

Supervisors asked about which capital projects were deferred, the airport’s assumptions about ridership recovery and steps to rehire furloughed workers and support concessions. Sotero said SFO has prioritized worker rehiring where possible, maintained a focus on safety and on-outreach to airlines to rebuild routes.

The committee voted 5–0 to file the airport’s mid‑cycle update; no appropriations were adopted at the hearing.