Austin-Bergstrom International Airport is entering one of the busiest stretches of the year just as a partial shutdown of the federal government threatens to slow TSA screening lines.
Airport officials expect more than 35,000 departing passengers on multiple days before, during and after the Austin City Limits Music Festival, which kicks off Friday and runs Oct. 3-5 and Oct. 10-12 at Zilker Park.
In recent years, the Monday after ACL's second weekend ranked among ABIA's 10 busiest days with well over 38,000 people clearing security.
But ACL is just the warmup.
The U.S. Grand Prix returns to Austin Oct. 17-19 this year, bringing tens of thousands of fans to Circuit of the Americas. The Monday after the race was the busiest day ever recorded at ABIA for the last three years in a row.
Last year, that translated to more than 44,000 departing passengers. For comparison, on Wednesday, a relatively calm day at ABIA, the TSA was expecting to screen about half that number.
ABIA officials are bracing for a new all-time passenger record on October 20.
"It's an all hands on deck operation," ABIA spokesperson Samantha Rojas told KUT News. "We have extra employees from finance, HR that [will come into the terminal] for line management, queuing, questions, anything that passengers need."
Rojas stressed the single most important piece of advice she could offer travelers was to show up at least 2.5 hours before departure for domestic flights. For international flights, the recommendation is three hours.
"I can't emphasize it enough. Get here on time," Rojas said.
Rojas urges travelers to check real-time parking availability at ABIAParking.com and consider using which ever roadway level is less congested (departures or arrivals) for drop-offs and pickups.
National politics could ratchet up the pressure. Much of the federal government remains closed after the U.S. Senate failed to reach an agreement that would keep the government funded at current levels through Nov. 21. A vote to reopen the government failed on Wednesday.
With federal funding lapsed as of Oct. 1, the TSA says about 61,000 of its 64,000 employees are considered essential workers who must stay on the job.
"While TSA is prepared to continue screening about 2.5 million passengers a day, an extended shutdown could mean longer wait times at airports," the TSA's press office said in a statement that wasn't attributed to an individual. "We kindly ask for our passengers’ patience during this time."
One longtime driver who's weathered ACLs and race weekends in the past had simple advice: take a deep breath.
"Everybody has to be patient," ATX Lux Rides owner Robert O'Neal said with a laugh while waiting for a passenger at the bottom of the arrivals escalator. "Just have a great attitude, because there's lots of traffic. I mean, it's Austin and Austin has definitely changed."
