AUS braces for continuing crowds

After a rough start to the week, Austin airport authorities are looking for solutions and warning of busy travel days ahead. Though operations have returned to normal, the airport is expecting an estimated 28,000 passengers a day through Monday, and anticipates setting a new record for total passengers this year. In 2019, that record was set at 17.3 million passengers. This year, passengers are expected to hit 20 million. With all that in mind, airport leadership met with the Transportation Security Administration to talk about passenger wait times and “continues to partner with TSA to improve passenger flow and TSA staffing levels,” according to a news release. “Airport leadership has also met with the Consolidated Rental Car Facility operator and has requested an after-action report to thoroughly understand the cause of Monday morning’s traffic back-up and to identify solutions to prevent it from reoccurring.” Finally, a jet fuel shortage alert issued Monday has been lifted, with normal fueling operations taking place as of Wednesday afternoon. The press release explains, “AUS airlines did not experience any canceled, diverted or delayed flights due to this alert. Airlines are no longer being requested to fly in with extra fuel now that the on-site storage has reached a 2-day supply. However, most airports average a 5-7-day fuel supply.”