AUSTIN, Texas — Travelers trying to fly into Austin from Houston and Dallas are being met with delays Friday morning due to air traffic control staffing issues.
The Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) said around 10:30 a.m. that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has issued a temporary ground stop for arriving flights from Houston air space into AUS. By 11 a.m., the airport added that the temporary ground stop had been extended to arriving flights from Dallas air space, including arriving flights from the Dallas Fort Worth International Airport and Dallas Love Field.
At this time, departing flights from AUS are not affected.
An advisory from the FAA lists “staffing” as the reason for the ground stop. AUS also confirmed that the FAA had issued the ground stop “due to staffing” and that AUS could “see that on their [FAA’s] website the ‘impacting condition’ is staffing but we don’t have any further information.”
KVUE reached out to the FAA for clarification, and the agency said it is pausing some flights to AUS “due to staffing in the air traffic control tower.”
Vanessa Fuentes, whose Austin City Council district includes the airport, responded to the ground stop Friday morning, saying in part, “THIS is why I’ve been demanding action on the critical air traffic controller staffing crisis. Travelers deserve safety AND reliability…”
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.