Photo: Austin-Bergstrom International Airport
Austin’s busiest airport has been even busier in recent days. On Monday, the Texas capital saw a surge of travelers flying in and out Austin-Bergstrom Internationalprompting the airport to issue a fuel shortage warning.
Due to its low supply of jet fuel, the airport (AUS) warned airlines not to carry extra fuel or send in more by tankers, Bloomberg reports.
The rush of travelers not only strained AUS’s kerosene supply, but also its staff and passengers. Bloomberg says more than 8,000 travelers passed through the airport before 8 a.m. on Sunday and Monday. The airport confirmed this is about 25 percent higher than normal.
As you can imagine the arrival gate looked like a scene straight out of a nightmare:
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Airport security lines stretched out of the terminal onto sidewalks, and many people missed flights as the deluge of travelers dashed any latecomer’s hope of making it through TSA while anxiously apologizing to fellow flyers.
The kerosene shortage is mainly due to the energy crisis the world is facing as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. According to CNBC, the price of jet fuel has already increased by 50 percent this year. And to top it off, a surge in travel demand has weighed on airlines of late. THE END fault Texas Relay and NASCAR.
But another likely cause of the kerosene shortage could be that AUS hasn’t stepped back to prepare for travel surges by increasing its fuel capacity, which lags behind other airports with similar passenger volumes. From Bloomberg:
The airport’s two fuel tanks have not been expanded or upgraded since they opened in 1999. [Sam] said Haynes. As a result, the Austin facility typically holds one to two days of fuel stocks, less than half the five to seven days of fuel stocked by most airports of a similar size, she said.
[…]
“There’s just not enough supply to keep up with demand,” she said. “This is all a result of the tremendous growth we’ve seen in the Austin area.”
At AUS, Southwest Airlines is reportedly the largest airline by passenger load. The Dallas-based airline tells Bloomberg it is aware of the shortage and will circumvent it by refueling on incoming flights.
The practice of refueling has drawn criticism abroad for increasing emissions by making planes heavier and using more fuel as a result. But instead of fueling and polluting Austin more, maybe it’s time AUS got bigger fuel tanks.
Photo: Austin-Bergstrom International Airport