Austin airport's vacancy rate soars above 19% amid lower pay rates, high living costs

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Amid an ambitious, decade-long overhaul of the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport and ongoing city budget discussions, Austin Aviation leadership is also navigating high vacancy rates within the department.

Citywide, Austin officials noted a 10% vacancy rate in city positions — down from 14% at the start of fiscal year 2024 last October. Overall, Austin has a 7.5% citywide turnover rate, down from 9.9% in 2023.

During an Austin City Council budget work session Tuesday, officials confirmed the aviation department has a 19.3% vacancy rate, nearly doubling the citywide rate.

"Colleagues, I'm very concerned about a 19% vacancy rate at our airport, especially in this crucial period that we're in with the airport expansion program," Council Member Vanessa Fuentes said Tuesday.

In the past couple of years, Fuentes said the airport has offered a 10% retention stipend to help retain airport staff. However, Aviation CFO Rajeev Thomas said that stipend wasn't factored into the department's current budget proposal.

Instead, he pointed to a market study completed and swapped in to increase base salaries for multiple, but not all, positions. That market study's focus has been on assisting with "hard to hire" positions: electricians, technicians, carpenters, plumbers, engineering staff and planners, to name a few.

When comparing AUS operations with 11 other airports, Thomas said AUS' pay was between 10% and 30% below other airports' levels. Despite the pivot toward a market study implementation for those hard-to-hire roles, Thomas did note his concerns with staff maintenance levels now that that retention stipend is gone.

Previously, AUS had a turnover rate of 3.8% in 2022; following the stipend implementation in 2023, he said that figure dropped to 2.36%. Currently, it's hovering just above 2%.

While AUS' overall vacancy rate climbs past 19%, staff did stress it's an improvement compared to previous figures. In January 2023, AUS' vacancy rate was 38%; by last December, that number had dropped to 23%.

One of the biggest staffing struggles, Thomas said, centered around recruitment success. Based on Austin's cost of living and existing pay rates at AUS, he said it has proven extremely difficult to attract talent from other airports to come work in Austin.

Austin human resources officials noted council will review updated compensation structures across the city at an August meeting. Council Member Alison Alter, echoing Fuentes' concerns, said she's uncomfortable with the existing vacancy rates coupled with the loss of that 10% retention bonus.

Austin City Manager T.C. Broadnax said he will work with the city's HR department and its compensation team on this issue, adding AUS can't work toward an expanded, high-functioning airport operation without a robust staff to support it.