Austin-Bergstrom International Airport is grappling with a critical shortage of air traffic controllers, leading federal officials to implement ground delay programs to manage the flow of arriving flights. With controllers working mandatory overtime and managing increasing workloads, the delays have raised safety concerns. In a recent instance, flights were delayed by an average of 41 minutes, with some passengers waiting up to two hours. The airport's CEO has alerted the FAA to urgent staffing issues, claiming they directly threaten safety and operations, as the control tower is currently staffed with only half of the required personnel.
The ground delay is where you're getting your safety from. They put in ground delays because they can only handle so many aircraft per hour.
Some travelers were delayed by almost two hours, with the most recent ground delay averaging a 41-minute delay.
City officials have been pressing federal officials to act, citing both flight disruptions and a string of near misses between planes.
Airport CEO Ghizlane Badawi described the staffing levels as 'dire' and warned that low staffing has already caused FAA-imposed delays.
#air-traffic-control #austin-bergstrom-international-airport #flight-delays #safety-concerns #faa-staffing-issues
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