in traffic in 2020 and 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The only upside was that the decline reduced traffic to levels easily handled in all weather conditions. In 2022, SFO was ranked no. 1 by The Wall Street Journal on its list of Best Large U.S. Airports, on which the airport was ranked no. 1 for both reliability and convenience. Runways The airport covers at an elevation of . It has four asphalt runways, arranged in two intersecting sets of parallel runways: Runway 01L/19R: , Surface: asphalt, has approved GPS approaches Runway 01R/19L: , surface: asphalt, ILS/DME equipped, and has approved GPS/VOR approaches Runway 10L/28R: , surface: asphalt, Category III ILS/DME equipped, and has approved GPS approaches Runway 10R/28L: , surface: asphalt, ILS/DME equipped, and has approved GPS approaches Runways are named for their magnetic heading, to the nearest ten degrees; hence the runways at 14° from magnetic north are 01L/01R, and the runways at 284° are 28R/28L. The layout of the parallel runways (1L/1R and 28R/28L) was established in the 1950s, and have a separation (centerline to centerline) of only . During normal operations (approximately 81% of the time), domestic departures use Runways 1L and 1R for departure while overseas international departures and all arrivals use Runways 28L and 28R, taking advantage of the prevailing west-northwesterly wind coming through the San Bruno Gap. During periods of heavy winds or if operations at Oakland International Airport conflict with SFO departures (approximately 15% of the time), Runways 1L and 1R cannot be used, and so all departures and all arrivals use Runways 28L and 28R. These configurations are known collectively as the West Plan, and accommodate arrivals at a rate of up to 60 aircraft per hour. Under visual flight rules, aircraft may safely land side-by-side essentially simultaneously on 28L and 28R while maintaining visual separation. When the visual approach is compromised, the West Plan is maintained with a modification to allow aircraft landing on 28L to use Instrument Landing System (ILS) while the aircraft landing on 28R takes an offset course, monitored via high scan rate ground radar, to maintain a lateral spacing greater than 750 ft until the aircraft can maintain visual separation. Visual separation typically occurs once the aircraft has descended below the cloud deck at an altitude of 2,100 feet (640 m). This is known as the Precision Runway Monitor/Simultaneous Offset Instrument Approach and reduces the