Officials at local airports say their phones have been buzzing with calls from travelers from around the country planning to fly private planes into Waco to watch the April 8 eclipse, though demand will ultimately depend on weather.
Waco Regional Airport is expecting about a 10% to 20% increase in total traffic for both general aviation and commercial flights in the days leading up to the eclipse, airport director Joel Martinez said.
The airport offers three commercial flights in and three flights out per day through its American Airlines service to DFW Airport, and most of the inbound seats are sold out in the weekend before the eclipse.
But for general aviation flights, Martinez and other Waco-area airport officials said traffic will depend on weather the day of the eclipse. The National Weather Service outlook for the eclipse day shows a high chance of rain and clouds.
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Both Waco Regional and McGregor Executive Airport officials said their fixed-base operators have been taking reservations for fuel service and plane storage, but both airports expect many pilots will skip the reservations and fly in just before the eclipse.
Texas State Technical College’s airport is not taking reservations, but officials said they are expecting to take in the overflow. All three airports said they will ground their flight school traffic on the day of the eclipse to offset the expected surge in traffic.
Officials at local airports said they can handle a large number of planes landing, but the increased traffic could mean air traffic jams after the eclipse is over in the early afternoon as planes attempt to leave en masse. The eclipse begins at 12:20 p.m. and ends around 3 p.m., with the totality lasting from 1:38 p.m. to 1:42 p.m.
Texas Aero, the fixed-based operator for the Waco Regional Airport, has been accepting reservations for the eclipse for more than a year, said customer service manager Patrick Ishimwe.
He said 55 reservations have been made as of Monday for a mix of small and large planes. He said the airport has storage room for about 80 planes and can handle more planes that fly in the day of without a reservation, though they would only be able to stay on the runway.
Ishimwe said Texas Aero has been preparing for the influx of travelers since March 2023. He said Texas Aero has ordered extra fuel and has made gift bags to give to customers. Ishimwe said Texas Aero wanted to ensure visitors have a good memory of the eclipse and of Waco.
Ishimwe said typically, Baylor University football game days see the most traffic at Waco Regional Airport, but reservations for Monday have eclipsed even the busiest Saturday game days.
Ishimwe said people are traveling from all over the U.S. to visit Waco for the eclipse, and even said some celebrities have made reservations to fly in on private jets, though he declined to divulge names.
Martinez also said NASA will have a team of observers at the airport. Some NASA scientists will be present at McLane Stadium for Baylor’s Eclipse Over Texas event, but Martinez said due to the expected cloud cover, NASA wanted to have its team spread out in the area to find the best spot to view the eclipse unobstructed.
Juan Hernandez, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Fort Worth office, said current projections show the day of the eclipse will be cloudy and possibly rainy, though he said the forecast could always change.
While Hernandez said the weather service is about 80% to 90% certain there will be cloud cover in the Waco area, he said some of the cloud cover could be thinner, meaning the eclipse will still be partially visible.
Hernandez also said in the days closer to the eclipse, the weather service will be able to more accurately predict the forecast. He said the weather service will also know what areas will have more cloud coverage or less and will report that information on social media in the days immediately before the eclipse.
TSTC airport has also had calls from people planning to fly in for the eclipse and is expecting a large traffic increase for the eclipse, airport manager Gordon Rowell said. Rowell said TSTC is asking visiting pilots to bring their own wheel blocks, as the airport does not have enough for the expected increase in traffic.
TSTC’s fixed-base operator, Servion, isn’t accepting reservations and will only take planes on a first-come, first-serves basis. Ryan Fisher, Servion’s vice president, said TSTC expects to mainly handle the overflow of planes from the Waco Regional and McGregor airports.
Due to TSTC’s vast runway space, Fisher said TSTC will have plenty of space for pilots who decide to fly in on the day of the eclipse. While Fisher said Servion is expecting some traffic on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, he said TSTC is expecting most of its air traffic to come in on Sunday and Monday, with the most expected Monday morning leading up to the eclipse.
McGregor Executive Airport director Barry Lightfoot said the airport has received about 20 calls for reservations for the day of the eclipse, and he expects additional flights. Altogether, Lightfoot said he estimates the McGregor airport to have about a 40% increase in traffic compared to normal levels.
Lightfoot said the reservations have mostly been small planes, but said some larger planes such as Gulfstream and Challenger jets have made reservations. In the event of bad weather, Lightfoot said the number of small, single-engine planes would likely dwindle.
Lightfoot said the McGregor airport can hold about 50 to 60 planes. He said JAG Aviation, the airport’s fixed-base operator, has ordered extra fuel in anticipation of the increased traffic and has designated certain areas of the runways for certain planes to aid in the speed in which the planes can depart after the eclipse.
Lightfoot said most of the reservations at McGregor are for Monday.
WATCH NOW: With Waco hotel rooms in high demand ahead of the April 8 eclipse, an Even Hotel has just opened on the east side of the Brazos River.
