Air traffic controller staffing issues caused delays Sunday at Austin airport

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin-Bergstrom International Airport is back to normal Monday after arrivals were delayed Sunday evening.

The delays were caused by air traffic controller staffing issues, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. The first arrival delays alert was issued around 5:30 p.m. Sunday.

"Operations are normal after the FAA briefly slowed the flow of flights into Austin-Bergstrom International Airport on Sunday, June 16, due to unanticipated air traffic controller staffing issues," an FAA statement said.

Staffing issues are a rare cause of delays, an FAA spokesperson said.

Staffing or "other" issues cause about 2.5% of all summer travel delays, according to the FAA. Weather is the main cause of delays, accounting for about 63% of total delay minutes, according to the FAA. This is followed by volume (17.4%) and runway (16.4%) issues.

In November 2023, U.S. Congressman Lloyd Doggett (D-Austin) said more air traffic controllers were coming to AUS in the following months of December and January.

The FAA's goal is to have 52 air traffic control staff members at AUS in 2024, according to its workforce plan. The airport had 42 staff members as of its September 2023 update.

AUS safety improvements

Following a near miss at AUS last year, there have been several steps taken to improve safety at Austin's airport.

In March, the FAA said the airport would get a new safety tool called Approach Runway Verification that would alert air traffic controllers if an aircraft was lined up to land on the wrong surface or wrong airport.

AUS is also one of four airports to get a runway safety system called the Surface Awareness Initiative, which will show surface traffic to controllers, the FAA said in April.

Austin's airport was the first air traffic control tower to get updated Tower Simulator System software—part of a 2024-25 effort to refresh technology nationwide, according to the FAA's Air Traffic Controller Workforce Plan. The update lets controllers practice current and future air traffic procedures and reduces the time for controllers to fully certify at their airport.