Day after F1 race 2021 was the busiest ever for ABIA

AUSTIN, Texas - There was only one way to describe Austin Bergstrom International Airport on the Monday after the Formula One race, busier than ever. Historically, the airport is busiest the Monday after the race, but this year
it's hitting a record.

"Nov. 4, 2019, after the race there were about 31,000 passengers who came through the terminal. This year we are looking to blow right past that. We are already looking at projections of 35,000-36,000 passengers," said Bryce Dubee, spokesperson for ABIA.

Monday was not only the busiest day of the year, but numbers show it was the busiest day in the airport's history. TSA checkpoint lines were extra long but moved at a decent pace. Racegoers had to be equipped with a lot of patience.

"This is the busiest I’ve seen at the Austin airport. I’m in and out for business a lot," said Nick Yeargin, a traveler who came with his daughter for the race.

"It's about being patient, it's a different time, we are getting used to this but it's all good, just blessed we get to do this and move around the planet," said Yeargin.

They felt the hassle was worth experiencing the race in person for the first time. "People of all walks of life, every color, every race, every type of person were just having fun together, showing what America is all about," he said.

Johnny Seguin could tell the airport would be busy just based on the traffic at the race itself. "Come Sunday it was unbelievable. Traffic didn't move much at all. You probably had to spend more time leaving the race than watching the race," said Seguin.

Airport officials said if you are catching a flight Monday, get to the airport three hours before your flight leaves.

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