A protest arrived at the International Terminal at SFO Wednesday morning, with protesters calling for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.
Holding a banner that said "Stop the World for Gaza," the protesters gathered just before 9 am at SFO's International Terminal, attempting to block entry to the TSA checkpoints leading to the A and G gates of the terminal.
One witness claimed the protesters had shut down one of the gates, and then that they had shut down the entire terminal, however the airport tweeted at 9:05 am that the terminal remains open and that passengers "are being re-routed around the activity."
Update: There was at least some success in shutting down the TSA checkpoints, because the airport tweeted at 11:30 am that "A & G checkpoints in the International Terminal are now reopened."
The Chronicle reported that there were as many as 200 protesters, and at one point, "Car traffic was halted on the drop-off loop outside of the International Terminal."
#SFOALERT
— San Francisco International Airport (SFO) ✈️ (@flySFO) March 13, 2024
There is a protest in the International Terminal. The terminal remains open. Passengers are being re-routed around the activity
Update- protestors have shut down the entire international terminal at San Francisco international airport demanding a cease fire. Both major security gates are blocked https://t.co/KOeIqPy8JK
— Dena Takruri (@Dena) March 13, 2024
Airport officials were recommending that passengers arriving at the International Terminal get dropped off at the "Kiss and Fly" lot and take Airtrain to the terminal.
As of 11:43 am, the airport tweeted, "Roadways and checkpoints have reopened resuming normal operations. Please allow extra time."
A similar pro-Palestine protest took place on December 27, simultaneously at both JFK Airport in New York and at LAX.
