​Austin airport shows disturbing trend with passenger traffic still way down from last year

Austin-Bergstrom International Airport passenger traffic stalled out in August, with month-over-month passenger traffic nearly the same as July.

Airport traffic data released this week also revealed a significant decrease in overall passenger activity in August. In total, 419,175 passengers frequented the airport in August, a 72.4% decrease year-over-year.

But perhaps more concerning, month-over-month traffic is only up 3.2%, a sign that passengers are hesitant to resume air travel after significant increases each of the past three months.

Passenger traffic hit rock bottom back in April when only 47,781 people flew through Austin's airport as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. That represented a 96.6% decrease year-over-year. Since then, passenger traffic has steadily climbed:

• May: 130,826 (-91.5% YoY)
• June: 291,578 (-81.9% YoY)
• July: 406,065 (-75.3% YoY)
• August: 419,175 (-72.4% YoY)

The year-over-year decline in August is less substantial than the passenger decrease seen in prior months. So far this year, Austin airport traffic is down 60.6% from 2019.

Airport officials are asking Austin-area residents to provide feedback about their travel experience since March as part of a safety survey available online.