The Austin airport can randomly be a headache any day of the week. But things tend to take a chaotic turn each fall thanks to back-to-back weekends of Austin City Limits Music Festival.

The annual event will take over Zilker Park in Austin, Texas, Oct. 4-6 and Oct. 11-13. ACL Fest has grown in popularity in recent years, and the event typically draws attendees from across the country — and even the world.

This means the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (ABIA) will likely be busier than usual from Friday, Oct, 4, through Tuesday, Oct. 15, as hundreds of thousands of people flock to the Capital City for both weekends of ACL Fest.

The Austin airport also started an expansion project in April 2024. Due to the expansion, the airport will be under construction through 2026.

Translation: Flying out of Austin over the next two weeks might stress you out (more than usual) and give you a crowd-induced headache.

Whether you’re escaping the city to avoid the crowds associated with ACL Festival or are coming into town for the event, there are ways to make it in and out of the Austin airport alive with your sanity intact.

Tips for flying in and out of Austin-Bergstrom Airport during ACL Fest

Sometimes, things seem to go over better when you expect the worst. And flying in and out of the Austin airport during ACL Fest is no different.

This way, when things go smoothly, it’s a welcomed surprise. But if things go south, there’s not much to sweat and spiral over because you were expecting it anyway.

When flying into Austin, there are a few tips to follow that will help you maintain your sanity in an airport that’s far too small for the number of travelers it sees.

If you checked a bag on your way to Austin, expect a delay at baggage claim. Typically, travelers either get their bags from baggage claim within 30 minutes of their plane arriving at the gate, or they’ll have to wait over an hour.

There is no such thing as a happy medium when it comes to baggage claim at ABIA. In best best-case scenario, you get your bag without much delay. Worst case scenario, you’ll start spiraling while thinking the airline lost your suitcase due to the excessive amount of time spent waiting for it.

More often than not, your bag will arrive at baggage claim without issue — it just might take a touch longer than you’d like. This is where “expecting the worst” comes in handy.

So, pack your patience, grab a taco from one of the many local restaurants that line the main terminal at the Austin airport on your way to baggage claim, and await whatever odds the airport gods have in store for you that day.

From Friday, Oct. 4, through Tuesday, Oct. 15, the Austin airport recommends travelers who are flying out and will be using the general TSA screening lines, meaning those without TSA PreCheck or Clear, to arrive at least two and a half hours before their departure time for domestic flights, and three hours before departure for international flights.

There are three security lines at the Austin airport. Checkpoint 2 West (located between the United and American check-in counters) has security lines for those with TSA PreCheck and Clear. Security checkpoints open at 3 a.m. daily.

If you plan on checking a bag when flying out of Austin between Oct. 4 and Oct. 15, expect ticketing counters to be busy and lines to be long, especially for airlines that offer free or discounted checked luggage.

How to kill time at the Austin airport

Delays are a part of flying, and no matter how much it kills your vibe, a bad mood won’t change the fact your flight’s been delayed.

The good news is there’s a lot to do at the Austin airport. Plus, beers are cheaper there than they are at most music venues in Austin — and most drinks will be cheaper than they are at ACL Fest. That’s a win if we’ve ever heard one.

Whether you’re at the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport for a layover or are flying out after a weekend at ACL Fest, there’s surely a shop, record store, restaurant, cafe or bar calling your name.

The cool thing about the Austin airport is it aims to feature local vendors. There’s a Waterloo Records in the airport’s main terminal and a Tyler’s store, as well as local restaurants and coffee shops like Hut’s Hamburgers, The Salt Lick, Tacodeli, Jo’s Coffee, Second Bar + Kitchen, 24 Diner, Amy’s Ice Cream and The Peached Tortilla.

Some spots even let travelers take their boozy beverages to-go, allowing them to settle their preflight nerves with a drink in hand while obsessively checking the flight board at their gate.

Heck, you can even watch flights take off and land on the runway, thanks to the endless floor-to-ceiling windows that span the Austin airport.

Does this make it a little hotter than some travelers would like? Sure. But it also makes getting stuck at the Austin airport feel a touch more bearable and feel less like you’re stuck in a dungeon of travel hell.

If you want to kill time with something a little more interactive, head to the “Interimaginary Departures” setup between gates 12 and 14 (there is no gate 13 at ABIA).

This was designed by Brooklyn-based artist, Janet Zweig. You’ll see a sign with an infinity symbol and seats lined up at a seven-degree angle and a flight board with fake flights to Narnia and the Emerald City, to name a few destinations.

It’s kind of silly, but it beats being forced to listen to that one guy (you know the guy) talk on the phone at a soul-piercing volume.

Fastest way to get to rideshare pickup, rental cars at Austin airport

Wouldn’t it be great if you could grab your checked luggage, exit the Austin airport and snag a rideshare or cab from the pickup area?

In a perfect world, this would be the case. But those flying into Austin-Bergstrom International Airport should expect a bit of a trek to both the rideshare pickup and the rental car counters.

Since the airport’s expansion efforts are long overdue, space is a bit tight. Given how maddening the arrival and departure decks can be at ABIA, it’s almost like a twisted blessing in disguise that travelers must embark on a journey through multiple parking garages to reach the rental car counters and rideshare/cab pickup areas.

While you’ll see signs that say there’s a shuttle from the garage nearest the airport entrance to the garage where the rideshare pickup and rental car counters are, the shuttles — which are usually golf carts — don’t fit that many people and aren’t running as frequently as they should.

If you don’t have a checked bag, the fastest way to get to the rental car and rideshare pickup area, which are in the same garage, is by exiting through the upper level where the ticketing counters are. If not, you’ll have to wait for a painfully slow elevator in the first parking garage and take it to the second level before trekking to the actual garage where rideshare pickup and rental car check-in are located.

If you check a bag, you can always take an escalator up to the second floor and exit through the “arrival” doors. There is a designated walkway through the garages to both pickup areas. But people tend to drive a touch too aggressively in parking garages at the airport, so make sure you’re paying attention where you’re walking.

While the walk isn’t “far,” it can be annoying after a long day of travel. Plus, it’s open air, and if the weather is toasty that day, it might not be the most enjoyable trek. But, an air-conditioned rideshare or rental car awaits you at the end of your journey, and all the airport annoyances will soon melt away.

You can view a map here for help navigating to the rideshare pickup area at the Austin airport.



RADAR CHECK: Light rain is fairly widespread across southwest Alabama this afternoon; showers are widely spaced over the northern half of the state. Temperatures are in the 70s over south Alabama with clouds and rain. The northern counties, where the sun is out in spots, are in the low to mid 80s. Showers will fade quickly after dark, and the sky becomes mostly fair tonight with a low in the 60s.THE ALABAMA WEEKEND: Highs remain in the 80s Saturday and Sunday with a partly to mostly sunny sky both days. We will keep some risk of showers in the forecast for far southern Alabama, but nothing too widespread or heavy.

COOL CHANGE: While Monday will be another warm day, a dry cold front will bring a cool change to the Deep South beginning Tuesday. Highs drop into the 70s over north and central Alabama, with lows in the 50s. The high will be close to 80 over south Alabama, and the week will be dry with sunny days and fair nights. We see no significant rain for Alabama for the next 10-15 days. This is common for October, the driest month of the year here based on climatology.TROPICS: Kirk remains a major hurricane with winds of 140 mph, but it is in the middle of the Atlantic, far from land. It turns north, then northeast well east of the U.S. Behind Kirk is Tropical Storm Leslie with winds of 65 mph. It should become a hurricane over the next 24 hours, but, like Kirk, it will remain far from land.

A trough of low pressure over the western Gulf of Mexico is producing widespread showers and thunderstorms. A broad area of low pressure is expected to develop from this system over the southwestern or south-central Gulf of Mexico during the next day or two, and additional subsequent development is possible while the low moves slowly eastward or northeastward. A tropical or subtropical depression or storm could form during the early to middle part of next week if the low remains separate from a frontal boundary that is forecast to extend across the Gulf of Mexico.

Regardless of tropical or subtropical development, locally heavy rains could occur over portions of Mexico during the next few days and over portions of the Florida Peninsula late this weekend into next week. The latest global models move the tropical low into south Florida Wednesday.

The National Hurricane Center gives this feature a 50% chance of development. We see no risk of a tropical storm or hurricane for the central Gulf Coast (Gulf Shores to Panama City Beach) for at least the next seven days.FOOTBALL WEATHER: There’s just a small risk of a shower during the first quarter for the high school games tonight. Otherwise, it will be mostly fair and pleasant; temperatures will fall through the 70s.

Saturday, UAB will host Tulane at Protective Stadium in downtown Birmingham (noon kickoff). The sky will be mostly sunny with temperatures in the low to mid 80s.

Auburn will be on the road at Georgia (2:30 p.m. CT kickoff). The sky will be sunny with temperatures in the low 80s through most of the game.

Alabama travels to Nashville to take on Vanderbilt (3:15 p.m. CT kickoff). Expect a sunny sky with temperatures falling from near 85 degrees at kickoff to near 80 by the final whistle.

RACE WEEKEND: There’s just an outside risk of a shower today at Talladega; otherwise, it will be warm and dry through the weekend with highs in the mid 80s. Lows will be in the 60s.

ON THIS DATE IN 1995: Opal made landfall at Pensacola Beach as a Category 3 hurricane with top sustained winds of 115 mph. Opal at that time was the first major hurricane to strike the Florida Panhandle since Eloise in 1975.

Opal’s legacy will always be the devastating storm surge that occurred across the coastal areas of the western Florida Panhandle. Storm surge of 10-15 feet was recorded from Navarre Beach east to Destin, with 6-8 feet observed in the inland bays from Pensacola to Choctawhatchee Bay. Opal destroyed most of the homes that were facing the Gulf of Mexico from Navarre Beach to east of Destin.

Opal was a high-impact event for most of inland Alabama. Rainfall measured at the Birmingham Airport reached 6.94 inches for the day, with major flooding in parts of the city. There were two storm-related deaths in Gadsden, in Etowah County, when high wind toppled a massive oak tree onto their mobile home.

For more weather news and information from James Spann and his team, visit AlabamaWx.

TEXARKANA, Ark. – Arkansas State Police officials said troopers arrested a teen facing a murder charge following a high-speed pursuit in Texarkana earlier in the week.

According to the ASP, troopers assisted officers with the Texarkana Police Department in pursuing a stolen vehicle around 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday near Garland and Jefferson Avenues.

Arkansas man sentenced on felon with firearm charges after 2018 arrest

Troopers said they then found the stolen vehicle and suspect traveling north on Jefferson Avenue before he turned east on Interstate 30 traveling around 95 miles per hour.

Near the I-30/I-49 interchange, authorities said the suspect tried to pass a vehicle in the median and lost control. Police said the suspect’s vehicle overturned in the median before stopping upside down.

Pulaski County deputies investigating after finding body during welfare check

Officials said the troopers arrested the 17-year-old suspect and after he received treatment at a nearby hospital, the suspect was transported to a juvenile detention center in Pine Bluff.

Authorities said the suspect had a trial date set for next month for a first-degree murder charge tied to the death of Kendrick Roquemore that occurred on Sept. 29, 2023.

Pulaski County deputies ID suspect in west Little Rock police standoff

ASP officials said the suspect is facing new charges of theft of property and fleeing in relation to the recent incident. Police noted he had previously been on a $250,000 bond for the first-degree murder charges but a judge revoked that bond on Thursday and added a new $250,000 bond for the theft and fleeing charges.

Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KARK.