Tickets, luggage belt issues cause long delays at Austin airport
When Austin Goldberg arrived an hour and a half early on his flight from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport Friday morning, he was sure he would have time to spare. He certainly hadn̵[ads1]7;t expected to miss the flight. But he did.
A problem with Southwest Airlines’ ticket counter led to a “domino effect” of major delays throughout the airport, a spokesperson for the facility said. Hordes of people queued and snaked their way out the airport’s doors, some for as long as 3½ hours, according to passenger tweets.
“It was like going to Disney World,” Goldberg said.
After standing in line for two hours to get through TSA PreCheck, a system designed to speed up the Transportation Security Administration’s screening process, Goldberg rushed to his gate, but his flight to New York had already boarded and the gate was empty. He was able to cancel the second leg of his flight through American Airlines and book a new flight through Southwest, but he acknowledged that others may not be as fortunate. He said he did not know if he was going to get a refund for the flight he missed.
Goldberg said a couple with toddlers in front of him also missed their flight to Disney World, and people behind him missed their flight to a wedding.
Many travelers like Goldberg shared their frustrations, posting photos of airport crowds via Twitter. Some said they missed their flights, and others complained about the airport’s alleged lack of communication.
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“Major failure this morning…many, many passengers missed their flights, including my family after arriving at the airport in plenty of time,” one Twitter user wrote. “The lack of baggage X-ray/screening machines and lack of staff is a big problem.”
The airport’s Twitter account responded to many of those who tweeted concerns with information and an email address for travelers to send questions to: AirportInfo@FlyAustin.com.
Ticket sales, baggage handling cause delays, airport says
Dan Landson, a spokesperson for Southwest, confirmed in an email that the airline experienced minor problems with its check-in system Friday morning. He wrote that problems with the airport’s baggage belt and TSA checkpoints compounded delays at the airport. He apologized to customers affected by the delays and wrote that he appreciated their patience.
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A component of the airport’s baggage handling system was temporarily offline Friday, which had “cascading effects” on security lines, airport spokesperson Bailey Grimmett wrote in an email, adding that the airline was working with TSA and airline partners to identify whether further action is needed.
“We look forward to delivering a new outbound baggage handling system and expanded and improved checkpoints through the Journey With AUS program,” Grimmett wrote.
Southwest is an extremely popular airline at the Austin airport. Between January and October 2022, Southwest passengers accounted for about 6.7 million of the airport’s total passenger volume of 17.5 million travelers. However, the airline has been plagued by delays in the past.
In late December, the airline canceled or delayed as many as 170 arriving or departing flights through Austin. In the last 10 days of 2022, Southwest canceled about 16,700 flights across the country, prompting an investigation by the US Department of Transportation. Winter weather contributed to some of the cancellations.
“There was no communication”
Several travelers, including Goldberg, expressed more frustration with the airport’s handling of the delays than with Southwest’s ticketing problems. Goldberg said neither he nor nearby travelers received much guidance from airline employees, although they expressed concern about missing their flights.
“Nobody knew what was going on. They were trying to move people around, but there was no communication,” Goldberg said. — There was no one to help us.
In addition to the Twitter responses, the airline tweeted updates about the delays. Just before 10 o’clock, the announced operations were normalized but advised travelers to arrive 2½ hours early for domestic flights and three hours early for international flights.
A Twitter user proposed travelers arrive at the airport two hours earlier than they normally would to get through security.
Goldberg, who travels frequently for work, said he was used to airport delays but was disillusioned with the airport’s efforts to get people to their destinations.
“Airports are airports, I get that. Flights get delayed with weather and stuff, but that wasn’t it. It was the Austin operations and how they handled security that was at fault here,” Goldberg said. “This is a rare case where I don’t blame the airline.”
