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PSA - ABIA And TSA Lines

Wally Pryor

By Wally Pryor
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Mo Horn

Mo Horn 8855

Posted
Posted
3 hours ago, gyroprotagonist said:

was this on AA and on 737s?  Saw some tweets about it.  people were speculating that they don't have enough pilots rated for the 737s with all the MAX planes that are coming back into the rotation.

CNN had an article today talking about AA cancelling hundreds of flights because they furloughed a ton of staff during the pandemic and now they don't have enough people to staff a lot of flights. I'm guessing that's why. 

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Js1

Js1 85574

Posted
Posted
59 minutes ago, Mo Horn said:

CNN had an article today talking about AA cancelling hundreds of flights because they furloughed a ton of staff during the pandemic and now they don't have enough people to staff a lot of flights. I'm guessing that's why. 

My fave part was that they cancelled a bunch of them for "weather" - through mid-July?  The weatherman can't even figure out if it'll rain tomorrow, but AA is anticipating weather problems 5 weeks out? 

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Cap33

Cap33 393

Posted
Posted
6 hours ago, immamac said:

Waiting in a long ass line to get in? The clear line is super fast - I used it for the LSU game and it was way less of a cluster fuck you just show up and they let you right in. 

Is that at each gate, or is there a designated Clear entrance?

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Catpfish

Catpfish 618

Posted
Posted

Dropped some friends off at the airport at 6 this morning.  The drive-up line was backed up halfway to the where the departure and arrival lanes separate.  Line moved slowly but consistently.  Once inside, they were through security in about 20 minutes.  No pre-check or Clear.

 

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...
South Austin

South Austin 52603

Posted
Posted (edited)

Got to ABIA at 4:40am for a 7am flight to NOLA. Holy shit this place is already jam packed, but they’re moving the security lines along pretty quickly. I had TSAPre so it as a breeze. Girlfriend was with the regulars and her wait was about 15-20 min.

Edited by South Austin
i touch myself
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Stringer

Stringer 1439

Posted
Posted

We had a 3pm flight today on Southwest to Denver for the family (me, wife, 1 YO and 4YO) and they canceled our flight at 10:30am.  By the time we saw it and got on the site, everything was booked until late tomorrow.  That would basically waste a day of the trip and had a layover in Houston, which is not ideal with two kids that age.

So, we booked a flight on Frontier (ugh) tomorrow morning.  Anyone have any info on the South Terminal?  Our flight home is on United, so is there a car issue on where to park.  Is there a shuttle between the terminals I can pick up?  Just grab a cab?

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Redneck Mutha

Redneck Mutha 8007

Posted
Posted
18 minutes ago, Stringer said:

We had a 3pm flight today on Southwest to Denver for the family (me, wife, 1 YO and 4YO) and they canceled our flight at 10:30am.  By the time we saw it and got on the site, everything was booked until late tomorrow.  That would basically waste a day of the trip and had a layover in Houston, which is not ideal with two kids that age.

So, we booked a flight on Frontier (ugh) tomorrow morning.  Anyone have any info on the South Terminal?  Our flight home is on United, so is there a car issue on where to park.  Is there a shuttle between the terminals I can pick up?  Just grab a cab?

We park at Fast Park and last time we took their shuttle to the main terminal, the driver said there was a shuttle stop at the curb where you could take a second shuttle over to south terminal.  

But I guess south terminal does have their own surface lots over there.

https://austinsouthterminal.com/getting-here-parking/

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Biff Tannen

Biff Tannen 45737

Posted
Posted
24 minutes ago, Stringer said:

We had a 3pm flight today on Southwest to Denver for the family (me, wife, 1 YO and 4YO) and they canceled our flight at 10:30am.  By the time we saw it and got on the site, everything was booked until late tomorrow.  That would basically waste a day of the trip and had a layover in Houston, which is not ideal with two kids that age.

So, we booked a flight on Frontier (ugh) tomorrow morning.  Anyone have any info on the South Terminal?  Our flight home is on United, so is there a car issue on where to park.  Is there a shuttle between the terminals I can pick up?  Just grab a cab?

I’ve had one southwest flight cancelled and at least 3 rescheduled within the past year. Previous 38 years?  Not one. Get your shit together southwest. 

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Js1

Js1 85574

Posted
Posted
1 minute ago, Biff Tannen said:

I’ve had one southwest flight cancelled and at least 3 rescheduled within the past year. Previous 38 years?  Not one. Get your shit together southwest. 

Pilot shortage is real. They haven’t adjusted schedules ahead of time, like AA did by canceling a bunch of flights 4-5 weeks out. 

Scares me for my Cabo trip next weekend 

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Biff Tannen

Biff Tannen 45737

Posted
Posted
6 minutes ago, Js1 said:

Pilot shortage is real. They haven’t adjusted schedules ahead of time, like AA did by canceling a bunch of flights 4-5 weeks out. 

Scares me for my Cabo trip next weekend 

So is the pilot shortage solvable?  Sorry if there’s a thread on this somewheres. 

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CooterBrown

CooterBrown 18028

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, Stringer said:

We had a 3pm flight today on Southwest to Denver for the family (me, wife, 1 YO and 4YO) and they canceled our flight at 10:30am.  By the time we saw it and got on the site, everything was booked until late tomorrow.  That would basically waste a day of the trip and had a layover in Houston, which is not ideal with two kids that age.

So, we booked a flight on Frontier (ugh) tomorrow morning.  Anyone have any info on the South Terminal?  Our flight home is on United, so is there a car issue on where to park.  Is there a shuttle between the terminals I can pick up?  Just grab a cab?

South Terminal has its own surface lots. One lot is 100 feet from the terminal and the further ones have a dedicated shuttle. TBH, it's a lot easier than the main terminal.  The downside to the south terminal is to make sure you eat before hand unless you like the premade turkey sandwiches.  There's a taco truck but it has been closed 2 of my 4 flights out of that terminal.

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  • 4 weeks later...
CooterBrown

CooterBrown 18028

Posted
Posted (edited)

Clear never has a line. Show up whenever.

Last Monday at noon was fine. Poors' security line was about 15 minutes. No wait in Pre Check.

When I got back Friday at about 6pm, the security line was insane. Like 500 people deep in both #1 & 2.  I'm glad I was arriving and not leaving at that time.

Edited by CooterBrown
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  • 7 months later...
CooterBrown

CooterBrown 18028

Posted
Posted
Bump for 
image.gif.c4afd62f5606fce50260fe37d5ac3f55.gif
Flying out Sunday morning just before 10am. Is the airport going to be a shitshow?

Spring break has potential to be a shitshow. A few years ago, Security Line 1 stretched almost all the way to line 2 and doubled back on itself. Pre check only had around 50 in line so it was easy. Can’t imagine having to wait with the poors.

If you don’t have pre check, you always have the option to take the free sign up for Clear to get through security if the lines are long. You can then cancel later.
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Guest Lobo

Guest Lobo

Posted
Posted

People traveling from overseas and staying here a week or more will typically check a bag.  

Airport is a shitshow right now but I'm guessing that means SXSW is happening here and Austinites are going elsewhere for the break.  

I have spoken with dozens of foreign nationals over the last three days.  Every one of them said our airport was a fucking shitshow, but all of them were beyond pleased to be in Austin, Texas.  It's the price we pay for the massive influx of capital.  

Having said that, I haven't been on airplane in exactly 24 months.  and I don't miss a fucking thing. 

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sidis

sidis 9832

Posted
Posted

The Monday of spring break, i had an 8am flight to SLC to go to Park City.

Never seen anything like it at ABIA.

It has simply become too busy for its infrastructure.  There are too many flights and too little airline and security management infrastructure.  it is just stupid.  The afternoon is typically a breeze to coast through...perhaps working with the airlines to reallocate all the 6am-10am flights to be more evenly spread over the day would be a quick bandaid but we have a regional airport structure servicing major airport thoroughfare.  someone is going to get murdered.

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DFWTexEx

DFWTexEx 278

Posted
Posted
Quote

Abandoned rental cars snaked down the road outside Austin-Bergstrom International Airport on Monday morning and passengers waited in a security line that reached outside the terminal and onto the sidewalk. 

Some travelers waited in security lines for hours, missed flights or even had to make alternate travel arrangements over the weekend as the airport was unable to handle unusually high passenger traffic generated in part by several high-profile sporting events

 

What's Happening at ABIA?

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Your Mom

Your Mom 4852

Posted
Posted
27 minutes ago, sidis said:

perhaps working with the airlines to reallocate all the 6am-10am flights to be more evenly spread over the day would be a quick bandaid b

The schedules are based on getting people to the most common connections downline.  For every flight you alter in the morning you'd need to alter several others after it at several other airports then then several more after each of those, and on and on.  But yeah, our airport is way too small. 

I'm sure it'll be a quick fix, it's not like we live in the kind of city that finally finishes the only freeway that runs to its airport 20 years after that airport is built.

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AUS-97HORN

AUS-97HORN 11823

Posted
Posted (edited)

typical Monday morning for ABIA.... 3 major sporting events culminated yesterday, so you would think the airport, might, just might have been prepared for an influx of Monday morning passengers.

 

oh-no-of-course-not.gif

 

2.5-3+ hour security lines that went OUTSIDE the building, combined with  the rental car return lane got fucked, and all kinds of people just abandoned their rentals in the road....

 

Quote

Abandoned rental cars snaked down the road outside Austin-Bergstrom International Airport on Monday morning and passengers waited in a security line that reached outside the terminal and onto the sidewalk. 

Some travelers waited in security lines for hours, missed flights or even had to make alternate travel arrangements over the weekend as the airport was unable to handle unusually high passenger traffic generated in part by several high-profile sporting events. 

Airport officials on Monday even took the step of issuing a fuel shortage alert due to a lack of available fuel supply — a measure an airport spokesperson said is becoming more common as the airport gets busier with more flights scheduled. A fuel shortage alert calls for flights to arrive with more fuel than normal in case there is no fuel available for them at ABIA.

 

The security line at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport stretches outside the building Sunday morning. Some travelers waited in security lines for hours, missed flights and even had to make alternate arrangements over the weekend as the airport was unable to handle unusually high passenger traffic generated in part by several high-profile sporting events.

 

Airport officials said in a statement that ABIA regularly sees high volumes of passengers, especially Thursdays, Fridays, Sundays and Mondays before 8 a.m. Staffers with the federal Transportation Security Administration moved almost 9,000 passengers before 8 a.m. Sunday, March 27 and about 8,250 before that time Monday. 

“These volumes reflect thousands of Austin visitors traveling home after attending events," including the Texas Relays, the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play and NASCAR races at Circuit of the Americas, the statement said. “In response to the strong demand for air travel, (the airport) continues to expedite terminal improvements through the Airport Expansion and Development Program and through working alongside our partners, like the TSA, to fill staff vacancies.” 

 

Sandy Musa, who lives about 20 minutes from the airport, said she didn’t even bother with the security line Monday morning when she saw it was outside the building. She arrived at 6 a.m., about 90 minutes before her flight to Las Vegas for a work conference. When she spoke to a security staff member, she said, she was told there was no way she was going to make her flight. 

 

“The line was wrapped from one end of the airport to the other,” she said. “It's not like it was just a few people hanging out by the automatic doors. You had to go to one end or the other of the airport to be in one of those lines. I would never have made it even if I got there two hours before.”

More:Austin gets another nonstop flight to Europe, this time to Amsterdam

Musa said she was frustrated that the airport didn't communicate to passengers on social media in advance how early they should plan to arrive to make flights, given the unusual volume of people. She said she was still deciding whether she wanted to try to catch another flight later Monday or give up on the trip altogether. 

Patricia Mancha, a spokesperson for the TSA in southwestern states including Texas, said the Austin airport had 15,000 more visitors a day this weekend compared with the normal course of travel. She cited the sporting events in the area as well as airlines adding flights to their schedules out of Austin as factors. 

Mancha said the TSA in Austin prepared for the weekend by bringing in additional staffing and approving overtime hours. Mancha also said Austin isn’t alone in increased travel volume. Nationwide, 2.3 million people passed through an airport security checkpoint Sunday, compared with 1.57 million on that day last year.

The Ausitn airport also had a line of abandoned rental cars to contend with Monday morning, causing some people additional delays.

“The rental car return line was due to a bit of an irregular situation. What happened was one rental car stalled out at the drop-off curb,” airport officials said in a statement. “Rental car staff instructed the customers to go ahead and leave the vehicle with the keys in it. This caused other passengers with rental cars to follow suit, and leave their rental cars alongside the curb. Once airport staff was alerted to this, we got in touch with the rental car company to request additional staff be dispatched ... to move the vehicles from the curb.”

 

Kelly Nagel, who was in Austin over the weekend for a wedding, said she was among those who left her rental car with the keys on the front seat to make her flight after sitting in line to return the vehicle for about 30 minutes Monday morning.

More:Austin airport gets new international route, this time to Vancouver

Nagel said she was able to bypass much of the security line because she has TSA PreCheck and was able to make her flight home to Pennsylvania. She said she got a call during her layover from the rental car company that the vehicle had been safely returned. 

Mancha said the best way people can help make security move more quickly is by arriving with plenty of time to spare and not packing prohibited items in their carry-on luggage. People should plan to arrive at the airport two hours before a domestic flight and three hours before an international one, she said.

“When people bring prohibited items to the checkpoint, they slow down the line,” she said. “TSA, the airport, the airlines, we’re all working together to get folks to their final destination. So it's really important for people to pack their patience. Our folks are really trying to help you get through.”

https://www.statesman.com/story/news/2022/03/28/austin-airports-weekend-woes-long-lines-missed-flights/7194370001/?utm_source=SND&utm_medium=Facebook&utm_campaign=statesman&fbclid=IwAR1YnXFsGXY_fVGwlXRT_oFXVBVWYi3eyo4uqGcQVkmfzm8jnFRDVXA03eA

 

and of course all ABIA can say is "you should arrive 2 hours early"

nothing about how they maybe should have issued a warning on social media on Sunday night that they were badly understaffed and they expected 3X their normal Monday rush, so get there 2-3 hours early. 

 

but of course,  even ABIA fucking did that most of these people STILL wouldnt have made their flights 

Edited by AUS-97HORN
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rage-a-holic

rage-a-holic 4470

Posted
Posted

Lines were pretty normal this morning at 6:00 a.m. . It took me 40 minutes to go through Southwest full-service baggage check then TSA PreCheck. It would have only been 30 minutes but TSA stopped a terrorist attack by removing a dangerous can of tomatoes from my carry-on bag.

Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

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South Austin

South Austin 52603

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, rage-a-holic said:

Lines were pretty normal this morning at 6:00 a.m. . It took me 40 minutes to go through Southwest full-service baggage check then TSA PreCheck. It would have only been 30 minutes but TSA stopped a terrorist attack by removing a dangerous can of tomatoes from my carry-on bag.

Why the fuck are you traveling with a can of tomatoes?

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Wiler77

Wiler77 1576

Posted
Posted

PSA there are Zoom interview spots open this evening for Global Entry approval (TSA Pre included).

I just had my conditional approval email yesterday and checked on interview schedules.  Everything booked for months, expect tonight starting at 530pm.

Log into your account and check

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ztejas

ztejas 43537

Posted
Posted
1 minute ago, rage-a-holic said:

I live in Mexico, dipshit. Try to keep up.

We are keeping up. Sounds like you fucked up a security line to save $4. I'm sure people behind you would have given you a 5 spot to not bring produce in your luggage. 

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