An air traffic controller at San Francisco International Airport (SFO) gave a British Airways pilot the incorrect instructions, and then scolded him. If nothing else, this clearly reflects just how stressed out some air traffic controllers are, and how collectively bad we are at deescalation.
SFO ATC gives wrong instructions, and then it escalates
VASAviation has the scoop on what happened at SFO on the afternoon of June 29, 2025. This incident occurred shortly after a British Airways Boeing 777-300ER landed at the airport, and was handed over from the tower controller to the ground controller.
Before the incident even escalated, I can’t help but point out that the controller’s tone sure came across as rather combative, so I imagine she was stressed before this incident even started.
What happened is that the ground controller clears the British Airways 777 to taxi to the ramp via taxiway A. However, there’s a United Airbus A319 holding short of a taxiway, so there’s clearly not enough space for the British Airways 777 to pass by via that taxiway.
So the controller corrects herself, and instead, instructs the plane to go via taxiways B, H, and A. Fair enough, except for the fact that the plane was already past the ideal turning point for taxiway B, so that concerns the British Airways pilots.
That’s when the conflict really starts:
British Airways pilot: “Okay, we’re unable B, we just missed it.”
Ground controller: “Speedbird 28K heavy, join B. Turn left, please, now.”
British Airways pilot: “Speedbird 28K, you told us A and we’re now too far to make B.”
Ground controller: “Okay, so you can’t turn at all?”
British Airways pilot: “No, we can, but with this green area on the left, is that safe if we taxi over?”
Ground controller: “Affirmative.”
British Airways pilot: “Okay, we’ll turn left. Next time tell us the correct taxiway.”
Ground controller: “Listen, we’re in training up here. Mistakes are going to happen, and look at that, your nose wheel is on the line, so you very well could do it! Know your aircraft!”
British Airways pilot: “I know my aircraft. We’re trying to do checklists and then you give me conflicting instructions.”
Ground controller: “Speedbird 28K heavy, I’m gonna have a phone number for you. Stand by. Don’t talk on the radio anymore.”
You can listen to the audio for yourself below, and I think it’s worth doing, as the tone is a key element in this interaction.
As usual, deescalation skills are in short supply
If we had to assign blame here, I’d definitely say the air traffic controller is more at fault than the pilot. Of course I recognize that air traffic controllers work really hard, and are often way too stressed.
The way I view it, she gave the incorrect instructions, and then tried to scold the pilot for not “knowing” his aircraft. Rather than just saying “sorry about that” and moving on, she needed to prove her point and be right.
But that brings us to the British Airways pilot. Sure, technically he was less wrong than the air traffic controller, but he also didn’t really try to deescalate the situation. It should’ve been clear to him that the air traffic controller was stressed out, and saying “next time tell us the correct taxiway” wasn’t exactly great deescalation, and didn’t accomplish anything. It was an honest mistake, so it’s not like she did it intentionally.
Bottom line
An SFO ground controller gave a British Airways pilot wrong taxiway instructions. That wasn’t a big deal, except for the seeming lack of deescalation skills on both sides. The controller had an attitude, then the British Airways pilot told her to give correct instructions next time, and then the controller responded by telling him to know his aircraft, and be quiet.
What do you make of this SFO incident?
