Ground delay at Austin's airport lifted

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- On Monday, the Federal Aviation Administration issued a ground delay for arrivals into the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. 

It's the second day in a row this has happened.

AUS said the delay was expected to begin at 3:30 p.m. and would last until 7:59 p.m. The FAA Advisory listed staffing as the cause for the delay. Shortly before 7:59 p.m., AUS said in an update that the ground delay was lifted.

“At this time, departing flights are not affected,” AUS said. 

As the government remains shut down, AUS Airport Deputy Chief Sam Haynes said there could likely be more ground delays.

"The caveat to that is that we are fairly limited in what we can do," Haynes said. "We're not the federal government, so we can't screen people. We can't direct aircraft and talk to pilots. We are here to help with wayfinding, crowd control and line management...for us it's kind of a waiting game to see what's the day going to be like under this shutdown."

AUS has dealt with at least five ground stops and delays since the government shutdown on October 1. The delays have impacted incoming flights, at AUS and airports across the country as the FAA works to offset impacts of air traffic controllers not showing up, since they aren't getting paid right now.

When these delays happen, AUS said its staff has to make sure it maintains order at the airport.

"We start to see congestion in the terminal, and that's where our staff will come out on site and just help, make sure that lines are orderly and that people know where they're going and how they need to get there," Haynes said.

Monday morning, many travelers KXAN spoke with at the airport said they didn't experience any travel issues or delays.

However, some are still wondering how future travel plans could be impacted with the continued shutdown.

"As I've traveled around the country and talked to air traffic controllers...none of them can manage missing two paychecks," U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said. "And if the government doesn't open, the notice [for paychecks] will be another big fat zero and you're going to see more of them probably make the decisions of funding their families, putting food on their table, gas in their cars, versus coming into work."

AUS recommended travelers “keep an eye on your flight status & connect directly with airlines for more info,” AUS said. You can check real-time information from the FAA here. 

Ground delays change a flight’s departure times, while a ground stop prevents flights from leaving, the FAA said.

AUS has experiened several ground delays over the last few weeks, with the most recent happening on Sunday. That ground delay lasted from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m.