Temporary ground stop at Austin airport lifted after air traffic controller issue

AUSTIN, Texas - The Federal Aviation Administration has lifted a temporary groundstop for arriving flights from certain cities into Austin.

Why was there a ground stop at Austin airport?

The backstory:

The FAA says a groundstop was issued for Austin-Bergstrom International Airport and that flights from Houston, Dallas and New Orleans were not allowed to land.

Officials said it was issued because there were not enough traffic controllers.

Departing flights were not affected.

What they're saying:

"Central Texans continue to be unnecessarily inconvenienced because of the FAA’s failure to do its job. With less than half the number of air traffic controllers we should have, and Trump making matters worse with the totally unjustified firing of a key safety equipment maintenance worker, my overriding concern is safety. It’s essential that the Trump administration does not continue to delay until we have the type of deadly catastrophe that happened so recently over the Potomac," Democratic U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Austin said in a statement.

"Things could go wrong if there are not enough people and, obviously, what’s happened is that the flights have been limited because of the shortage of air traffic controllers, which is a real concern and a massive inconvenience for travelers. So I mean we are lucky today because we are flying from Austin to Miami and the latest thing I have seen is that our flight is on time, but I feel for other travelers who have got all their other plans," says traveler Ed Oldfield.

What you can do:

ABIA says while the groundstop has now been lifted, travelers should stay in touch with their airlines.

A spokesperson with ABIA says the airport expects it will take a couple of hours or so for flight schedules into Austin from affected airports to get back on schedule.

Dig deeper:

Recent numbers from the FAA show just how understaffed the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport is when it comes to air traffic controllers. 

"We are in the top five airports with the greatest shortage of air traffic controllers," said Rep. Doggett in February.

So how bad is it? The FAA provided numbers to FOX 7 Austin in response to a Freedom of Information request. 

In January 2025, the FAA says only 32 controller positions were filled, compared to the target number of 60. That's just 53%. Those numbers were unchanged from six months prior. 

"You've done what no other reporter has done and gone out and actually get the data from the FAA instead of just accepting the propaganda that they put out," said Doggett. 

The situation has largely gotten worse over time. 

In January 2024, the target number was lower, at 42 controllers. Back then, 35 of those positions were filled, or 83%. Two years earlier, there was a target of 38 controllers, of which 35 were filled, or 92%. 

"We've gone backwards as the target has gone up," said Doggett. 

The FAA says there are more than 8,000 air traffic controller candidates in the hiring process.