Austin airport went under ground delay due to staffing issues

AUSTIN, Texas - The Austin-Bergstrom International Airport was under a ground delay for hours on Wednesday. 

It comes as the nation is struggling to find air traffic controllers to fill vacancies.

Ground delays at ABIA

What we know:

According to the Federal Aviation Administration, the ground delay is expected to last until 9 p.m. on Wednesday, May 21.

The delay caused an average delay of 49 minutes with a max delay of almost two hours, says the FAA alert.

The alert also said the delay was due to staffing issues.

Many arrivals on AUS's flight information are now showing delays.

What they're saying:

Passengers like Matt Garcia experienced delays ranging from one to seven and a half hours on Wednesday. 

"Just kind of came out of the blue, I suppose," said Garcia. 

He was heading to Milwaukee. 

"We actually just got here, but we knew that it was going to be delayed, so that helped. Otherwise, we would have been sitting here for a couple of hours, probably."

Others coming to Austin had to wait in another state.

"Just a delay in everything," said Hayes Colvin. "I got to the airport very early, and I thought I was doing everything right, and when I got there, it was actually a struggle. I just sat there. I read my books, studied for my exams. Other than that, it was kind of hectic. There were a lot more people in the waiting area than normal cause they thought their flight was delayed."

Colvin's flight was one of more than 200 planes coming in and out of Austin that saw a delay on Wednesday.

Dig deeper:

U.S. Congressman Lloyd Doggett warns Central Texans should prepare for more ground delays this summer in a post on X.

"The fix is going to take us some time, some months, some years, but if we’re going to fix it, we have to start now, and that’s what we’ve done," said Duffy. "We have a plan that I’m going to need Congress’ help, specifically your great Senator Ted Cruz."

"This is an American crisis," said Duffy.

What's next:

In April, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced its audit into the FAA's on-the-job training initiatives for traffic controllers. 

The FAA wants to hire about 3,000 traffic controllers to overcome its shortfalls. 

To help provide some relief, USDOT announced plans this month to offer a $5,000 dollar bonus for new air traffic controllers, raise the minimum age requirement and encourage military controllers to continue their career as citizens. 

USDOT says the agency has streamlined the process to get candidates into the program at the FAA Academy, and it hopes to have a full staff of air traffic controllers in the next three to four years.

Ongoing FAA staffing issues at AUS

Dig deeper:

AUS has had issues with FAA staffing for a while.

Earlier this month, over 120 flights were delayed due to air traffic controller shortages, with some stalled for over 90 minutes.

By the numbers:

In February, the FAA provided numbers to FOX 7 Austin in response to a Freedom of Information Act request.

In January 2025, the FAA says only 32 controller positions were filled, compared to the target number of 60. That's just 53%. Those numbers were unchanged from six months prior. 

The situation has largely gotten worse over time.

In January 2024, the target number was lower, at 42 controllers. Back then, 35 of those positions were filled, or 83%. Two years earlier, there was a target of 38 controllers, of which 35 were filled, or 92%. 

Austin-Bergstrom International AirportTravel NewsAustin