Most Airports Return to Normal Operations

After a day of dismal fog that disrupted flight schedules and delayed thousands of holiday travelers at California airports the day before, skies cleared sufficiently Friday to permit a return to normal operations at all but one major air terminal.

Between 2,500 and 3,000 passengers waiting to fly out of San Jose International Airport were delayed for up to three hours Friday when morning fog once again lowered visibility to below acceptable limits, airport spokesman Chuck Foster said. Visibility was sufficient to permit takeoffs by 10:30 a.m., and inbound flights were permitted to land beginning at 11:15 a.m., he said.

At Lindbergh Field in San Diego, only one or two flights were diverted before dawn Friday, after which there were no other fog-related problems, an official said.

All other major air terminals, including Los Angeles International Airport, were operating under conditions of good visibility Friday, although the forecast for today was for fog along the coast and in the valleys.

At Reno-Cannon Airport, which had been closed since Tuesday, fog seeding with dry ice opened a hole, permitting five landings and one takeoff Friday. But airport spokesman Rich Peacock said there was a strong possibility that the dense fog would close down operations again after dark. A number of Reno-bound flights were diverted to Sacramento Metro Airport.