FAA Reportedly Denies Austin Airspace Upgrade

Austin-Bergstrom International Airport falls short of some Class B standards but exceeds others.

Zach Vasile

Friday, August 22, 2025 at 03:00 PM ET

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Edited By:

Travis Tingle

A Southwest aircraft taxis in Austin. [Shutterstock]

Key Takeaways:

The FAA has reportedly denied the request to upgrade Austin-Bergstrom International Airport's (KAUS) airspace from Class C to Class B, despite support from local FAA staff and a U.S. congressman.
The proposed upgrade was advocated to enhance air traffic control safety and capabilities amid growing traffic, and to increase air traffic controller (ATC) pay by 15 percent, which could help alleviate a severe staffing shortage at KAUS.
While KAUS falls short of some Class B activity metrics (like takeoffs/landings), it exceeds others (like passenger traffic), and supporters note other Class B airports have less current traffic, arguing Austin's projected growth warrants the higher classification.
Following the Class B denial, local FAA teams may pursue an expansion of Austin's Class C airspace ("Super Charlie"), a process that offers less authority than Class B and is still projected to take at least two years for approval and implementation.

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The FAA has reportedly turned down a request to upgrade the airspace over Austin, Texas, to the same category as many of the nation’s busiest airports.

According to documents secured by public radio station KUT in Austin through the Freedom of Information Act, the FAA’s air traffic manager in Austin and some regional agency staff support elevating Austin from Class C airspace to Class B, which would trigger tighter regulation and automatically raise pay for air traffic controllers (ATCs) there by 15 percent.