AUSTIN (KXAN) — Thanks to the Austin City Limits music festival and two huge events at Circuit of the Americas, officials at Austin-Bergstrom Internation Airport are expecting potential record-breaking passenger volumes in October once again.
Coming off the fifth-busiest month in AUS history in July, airport officials say October is typically the busiest month of the year because of these events:
- Austin City Limits: Oct. 1-3 and 8-10
- MotoGP at COTA: Oct. 1-3
- Formula 1 US Grand Prix at COTA: Oct. 22-24
That said, officials stress if you have a flight near the dates of the events, give yourself extra time to do basically anything in the airport, whether it’s checking in, parking, checking bags, getting a boarding pass or going through security. Officials say lines could be “particularly long” for flights that leave before 9 a.m.
As a general rule, arriving 2.5 hours before a domestic flight is highly encouraged, as well as getting to the airport three hours before an international flight. Security checkpoints open at 3:30 a.m.
Thursday-Monday are typically the busiest at the airport, the top four busiest days in AUS history have been Mondays after either ACL or the Formula 1 race.
- Nov. 4, 2019: 31,934 passengers following Formula 1
- Oct. 14, 2019: 31,165 passengers following the second weekend of ACL
- Oct. 7, 2019: 30,328 passengers following the first weekend of ACL
- Oct. 22, 2018: 29,753 passengers following Formula 1
Airport officials say people being dropped off or picked up from the airport can use both upper and lower curbside areas.
