It's not even the holiday travel season, and airline passengers are being asked to pack extra patience.
The Austin-Bergstrom International Airport recently published an advisory to passengers traveling to or from Austin to arrive early and expect a record volume of passengers in the coming days. The city will be hosting two major sporting events during the upcoming weekend, including both the Formula 1 race, as well as an SEC football game between home team The University of Texas at Austin and the University of Georgia
"As October is notably a lively travel month for Austin, AUS asks passengers to plan for record-breaking busy days at the airport," the airport shared in an advisory to passengers.
The airport reports that Thursday, October 17 through Tuesday, October 22 will be the busiest travel days, as the SEC football game takes place on Saturday, and the Formula 1 race takes place on Sunday. The airport projects that at least 30,000 passengers will depart on high-traffic days.
In an effort to streamline potential congestion and delays, the airport asks passengers to arrive early for their flight, at least two and a half hours for domestic, and three hours for international. The airport also advises that highways and roads surrounding the airport will be busy with commuters who are visiting for the events.
The Austin Airport has been posting travel updates on their social media accounts.
Adding to potential delays and disruptions, the airport is undergoing an extensive construction update, including the closure of security checkpoint 3 through 2026. Travelers can use Checkpoint 2 West, which includes eight security lanes for TSA PreCheck, CLEAR, and Priority Screening. Checkpoints 1 and 2 East will be open for general screening.
During previous weekends when multiple sports events happened in Austin, the airport experienced extreme delays and traffic jams. For example, in 2022, passengers were forced to walk to the terminal along the highway due to traffic backup, according to social media posts.