Hundreds of flights are expected to depart Austin-Bergstrom International Airport on Friday as weather conditions improve, although dozens of flights have been canceled.
Sam Haynes, an airport spokeswoman, said more than 170 flights are scheduled for early Friday morning and a few flights have already departed from the airport.
Improved conditions follow Thursday’s massive cancellations amid freezing temperatures and a wintry mix of sleet and snow across Central Texas.
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“Current conditions at the airport look good, we are almost back to normal operations – the airport is dry and we don’t expect any more rain or ice,” said Haynes. “We have been able to maintain runway and airport operations for the entire duration of this event and expect a fairly regular flight schedule from this afternoon.”
On Friday morning, FlightAware, a website that tracks flight cancellations and delays, showed that 83 flights departing from Austin had already been cancelled, or 27% of flights. Another 56 flights scheduled to arrive in Austin-Bergstrom on Friday were also canceled. By noon, that number rose to 87 canceled flights, or 26% of flights.
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Haynes said the airport’s most recent update indicates there are 7 canceled departures and 49 canceled arrivals, although she said there would be more updates during the day. By the end of the morning, that number had risen to 64 canceled arrivals and 68 canceled departures. She added that the airport is fully operational, but cancellations and delays at other airports could affect aircraft availability.
While the airport remained open Thursday, airport officials said most inbound and outbound flights were cancelled. On Thursday afternoon, about 28 flights were scheduled, including flights that had already taken off or landed. In a tweet, airport officials said teams responded to ice accumulation, encouraging passengers to check their flight status before heading to the airport.
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As of Thursday afternoon, FlightAware, which tracks flight cancellations and delays, found that Austin-Bergstrom had the third most cancellations of any airport in the country. The 231 cancellations accounted for 76% of flights departing from Austin, following only Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, which had 664, and Chicago O’Hare, which had 277. Dallas Love Field came in fourth with 179. Another 220 flights scheduled to arrive in Austin yesterday were also canceled.
Roads also remain an issue for much of Central Texas. Roadway conditions can be checked at DriveTexas.org.
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Haynes said the airport sees moisture on elevated surfaces in front of the terminal and continues to monitor and treat those areas with e-38 chemical defroster and granular snowmelt material if it begins to freeze.
The airport encourages all passengers on flights today to check in with the airline before departing for the airport to confirm if their flight is still scheduled. If confirmed, passengers must also allow themselves sufficient time to travel to the airport and get to the terminal. Passengers should also be careful when they get there as some walkways, zebra crossings and surfaces around the parking lots, garages and terminal entrances remain wet and slippery.
View live flight delays and cancellations from Austin-Bergstrom here.