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AUSTIN (KXAN) — Delta Air Lines overtook American Airlines to become the second-largest airline at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in April, passenger data shows.
Monthly passenger statistics for AUS are publicly available since January 2019. An airport spokesperson couldn’t confirm if Delta had carried more passengers than American in a month prior to 2019, but told KXAN this was “likely” the first time it happened in airport history, as Delta currently has its busiest schedule ever from AUS.
Delta flew 302,647 passengers in and out of Austin in April, while American carried 298,579 passengers. Southwest Airlines remains the largest airline by far, carrying more than 735,000 passengers in April alone.
Throughout most of 2021, 2022 and 2023, American held a significant lead over Delta. In every month from March through December 2022, for example, American’s passenger total was more than double that of Delta.
Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, when air travel from Austin all but ground to a halt, American maintained an advantage.
New and canceled routes
Delta has been surging in recent months, with a slew of new nonstop flights from Austin. Since 2023, the airline has launched or announced 16 new direct routes, three of which are set to begin later this year. Only one of those new routes, to Harlingen, has since been canceled.
Meanwhile, American launched six new routes from AUS since 2023, but all have been canceled since their launch. The airline has canceled 35 nonstop routes from Austin in total since the start of 2023, including international destinations in the Bahamas, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Jamaica and Mexico.
Many of Delta’s new routes are those dropped by American, including Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Las Vegas, Memphis, Nashville, New Orleans, Orlando, Palm Springs, Panama City and Tampa.
In the first four months of 2025, American flew more than 1.1 million people, accounting for 17.4% of AUS passengers. Delta flew a little more than 1 million people during the same timeframe — 16.1% of all passengers. Southwest has flown more than 2.6 million people, 41.6% of all passengers.