AUSTIN (KXAN) — If you have to fly early next week, the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport is warning that you could experience long lines and packed flights. The number of people flying out of Austin Sunday and Monday could break records as hundreds of thousands of people depart after Formula 1 weekend.
According to Circuit of the Americas, the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix race is sold out. Through the course of the weekend just under 400,000 people will be at COTA, many of them from out of town, COTA says.
The bottlenecks at the airport could be bad enough that it is recommending people show up at least three hours before their flight. That recommendation is even longer if you have to check luggage or return a rental car.
Sunday afternoon, an airport spokesperson said they were already experiencing a ground delay due to increased traffic and a high volume of people.
Some incoming and outgoing flights were being delayed to help them catch up.
In a tweet, the airport asked that passengers do their part in making the airport safe “both by wearing a mask & packing extra patience for airport, airline, and other tenant employees.”
Both the lower curbside and upper curbside can be used for drop-off. The first TSA checkpoints and airline ticket counters will open at 3 a.m., according to the airport.
You can check security wait times through the airport’s website.