Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Austin, Texas, marked its 20th anniversary in style, with a parade through the Barbara Jordan Terminal.
With a brass band, floats, banners and even a few unicorns, staff at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) celebrated the airport’s 20th anniversary in style.
More than 150 employees – and five dogs – represented the City of Austin Aviation Department and several of the airport’s airlines, businesses and concessions in the parade. From dancing unicorns to famous video game plumbers, revelers wore a variety of colorful costumes, with some groups rolling hand-decorated floats as part of the procession.
At the conclusion of the parade, one final chant of “AUS!” wrapped up the festivities near Gate 18, where cake and games were made available for nearby travelers.
Officially opened on May 23, 1999, Austin-Bergstrom was the last US airport built in the 20th century, and was constructed in the footprint of Bergstrom Air Force Base, replacing the Robert Mueller Municipal Airport that had served Austin passengers for more than 60 years.
At that time, the new airport was designed to meet the increasing air service needs of Central Texas travelers, with more than 6.6 million passengers traveling to 29 non-stop destinations across the USA in its first year of operation. By 2018, more than 15.8 million passengers per year were traveling through Austin-Bergstrom to over 70 destinations across North America and Europe.
Today, the airport supports more than 74,000 area jobs and generated an economic impact of more than US$7.6bn in 2018.