FAA staffing issues lead to Austin airport delays
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Travelers check an electronic board for their flight departure at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in February. Photo: Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images
More than 100 flights were delayed at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport on Wednesday — the second time this month — due to federal aviation staffing issues.
Why it matters: Just ahead of a busy travel weekend, the delays point to a wider problem in Austin and elsewhere involving concerns over aviation safety and reliability.
What's happening: Citing staffing issues, the Federal Aviation Administration issued a ground delay at the Austin airport Wednesday, leading to delays for more than 180 flights.
- At least 120 flights were delayed on May 11, some for more than 90 minutes, over air traffic control staffing issues.
- In March, the FAA placed a brief ground stop in Austin for incoming flights from all Houston and Dallas airports.
What they're saying: "Another ground stop today for flights arriving at AUS means more unnecessary traveler inconvenience due to the FAA failure to correct our air traffic controller shortage," U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, an Austin Democrat, wrote Wednesday on X.
- "Central Texans can expect more such delays throughout the busy summer months, as the FAA and the Trump administration continue to shrink the FAA workforce and delay proper safety measures for our overwhelmed, overworked local controllers," he wrote.
- In February, the FAA fired several hundred employees, including those hired for radar, landing and navigational aid maintenance, per the AP.
The other side: "A complete modernization is going to soon be taking place," President Trump said this month. "We're beginning the process of fully replacing the technology at more than 4,600 air traffic control sites."
Between the lines: FAA staffing shortages in Austin and nationally predated the Trump administration.
- As of September 2023, facilities overseeing airports and approaching or departing flights were nearly 2,000 controllers short of a staffing goal of 8,966.
By the numbers: In January, according to the FAA, only 32 Austin air traffic controller positions had been filled, out of a target number of 60.
The intrigue: Officials at the city-owned Austin airport, charged with making the travel experience a positive one, pointed to the FAA for Wednesday's delays.
- "Both of our runways are open," the airport said on its X account Wednesday. "However, our partners at the FAA have issued a Ground Delay for arriving flights."