US congressman urges FAA to address safety issues at Austin airport
AUSTIN (KXAN) --- It's been busy at the Austin Bergstrom International Airport lately.
On Sunday, officials said in a social media post that more than 35,000 people are expected to depart from AUS on Monday. It could mark a top-five, record-breaking day at the airport.
Along with those travel numbers increasing, concerns for safety are on the rise as well.
Letter to the FAA
On Monday, U.S. Representative Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin, urged Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) acting Administrator Polly Trottenberg to address low air traffic controller staffing levels at AUS.
In the press release, Doggett specifically called on the FAA to:
- Increase both the number and training of air traffic controllers
- Advance the ranking of AUS to a level 10 terminal facility
- Expand airspace levels surrounding AUS
'Near misses'
In the letter, Rep. Doggett referenced a number of incidents between aircraft at AUS.
He listed the following:
- November 2022 "near miss" between Southwest and American Airlines aircraft
- February 2023 incident between a landing FedEx plane and a Southwest plane departing on the same runway
- April 2023 incident where a SkyWest jet was routed to ascend into the path of a descending Southwest plane
"ABIA air traffic controller staffing levels are inadequate to safely handle the growing level of traffic our airport is experiencing. This poses a public threat which should be immediately addressed," Rep. Doggett wrote in the letter.
He said AUS' tower and approach control volume increased 30% from before the pandemic.
Still, even with that growth, Doggett said controller staffing has not increased.
"According to your Administration, Austin has just 35 fully certified controllers, about 40% below the target level jointly set by the FAA and the National Air Traffic Controllers Association," he said in the letter. "ABIA is working over 70% of its shifts below FAA guideline numbers for appropriate staffing."
The FAA's response
In a statement sent to KXAN from the FAA regarding the letter, it said it would respond directly to Doggett.
Regarding staffing levels, the FAA said "The AUS Tower is authorized to staff 42 controllers. The current number of controllers at AUS Tower is 35. There are currently another eight Certified Professional Controllers in Training (CPC-IT) (not academy grads but controllers previously fully certified at another facility) at the facility."