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AUSTIN (KXAN) – Long waits, higher airfares and more traffic – these are some of the problems passengers face as airports return to pre-pandemic levels.
At Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS), the lines were about two hours long during Friday morning rush hour.
MORE: TSA security waiting times at Austin Airport 2 hours on Friday morning, frustrating travelers
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) said 5,000 passengers are considered a large number of travelers for the early morning before the pandemic. But the preliminary numbers from Friday morning showed 7,500 travelers in the rise.
“I was really shocked. We fly a couple of times and the airports were pretty much … not empty, but they weren’t that full, ”said Janet Cena as she stood in line to catch her flight.
Many said it was a sign that the trip is returning. El Paso Locomotive FC flew for the first time this season on Friday.
“It’s good to get back on the road,” said Diego Luna of El Paso Locomotive FC.
They joined about 20,000 others who passed security checkpoints in Austin on Friday. The airport warns you against arriving even earlier as Austin adds more destinations, which means more travelers.
“As of tomorrow we have several new flights to Aspen, Nassau, the Bahamas,” said airport spokesman Bryce Dubee.
KXAN has asked TSA whether staffing issues are causing delays. A spokesman said that while AUS wants to hire transport security officers compared to other airports in the country, doing so is not on the priority list.
“TSA has not taken any vacancies. Instead, during the height of the pandemic, Transportation Security Officers (TSOs) were given generous leave to deal with issues related to the pandemic. Right now we are well on our way to recruiting 3,000 TSO jobs nationwide and some areas require more jobs than others. Alaska, Washington State, Boston, and Denver are some of the most in-need airports. Austin-Bergstom Airport is seeking TSO positions. For security reasons, I cannot give you an exact number, but I can tell you that it is not on the priority list nationwide. “
– TSA spokesman
This is because airfares for travelers have almost doubled since 2020. Experts like Professor Edward Anderson of the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin said this is in part because the number of planes in service is about 15% lower than last year.
“Last year the airlines retired some of their planes because there were only 391,000 passengers a month. You got rid of some [planes]but now they have increased their orders, ”said Anderson. “2021 will remain expensive due to the shortage of aircraft and increased demand. After the summer rush it will probably get a little better. “
Anderson said sometime in 2022 we should see some relief in aircraft availability and prices should return to normal.
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