international airport
An international airport is an airport with customs and border control facilities enabling passengers to travel between countries around the world. International airports are usually larger than domestic airports and they must feature longer ...
in
Houston, Texas
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
, United States, serving the
Greater Houston
Greater Houston, designated by the United States Office of Management and Budget as Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land, is the fifth-most populous metropolitan statistical area in the United States, encompassing nine counties along the Gulf Co ...
Interstate 69
Interstate 69 (I-69) is an Interstate Highway in the United States currently consisting of 10 unconnected segments with an original continuous segment from Indianapolis, Indiana, northeast to the Canadian border in Port Huron, Michigan, at ...
/
U.S. Highway 59
U.S. Route 59 (US 59) is a north–south United States highway (though it was signed east–west in parts of Texas). A latecomer to the U.S. numbered route system, US 59 is now a border-to-border route, part of the NAFTA superhighway, NAFTA ...
with direct access to the
Hardy Toll Road
The Hardy Toll Road is a toll road in the Greater Houston area of the U.S. state of Texas, maintained by the Harris County Toll Road Authority. The route runs from Interstate 610 near central Houston to Interstate 45 just south of the Harris– ...
expressway, George Bush Intercontinental Airport has scheduled flights to a large number of domestic and international destinations covering five continents. It is the busiest airport in Texas for international passenger traffic and number of international destinations, as well as being the second busiest airport in Texas overall, and the 12th busiest in the United States for total passenger traffic.
The airport, originally named Houston Intercontinental Airport, was later renamed after
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; pr ...
, the 41st
President of the United States
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...
and resident of Houston, in 1997. IAH covers of land and has five runways. Houston Intercontinental is one of the largest passenger hubs for
United Airlines
United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois.
.
History
A group of Houston businessmen purchased the site for Bush Intercontinental Airport in 1957 to preserve it until the city of Houston could formulate a plan for a new airport as a replacement for
William P. Hobby Airport
William P. Hobby Airport (colloquially referred to as Hobby Airport, Houston Hobby, or simply Hobby) is an international airport in Houston, Texas, located from downtown Houston. Hobby is Houston's oldest commercial airport, and was its primar ...
(at the time known as Houston International Airport). The holding company for the land was named the Jet Era Ranch Corporation, but a typographical error transformed the words "Jet Era" into "Jetero" and the airport site subsequently became known as the Jetero airport site. Although the name Jetero was no longer used in official planning documents after 1961, the airport's eastern entrance was named Jetero Boulevard. Most of Jetero Boulevard was later renamed
Will Clayton
William Lockhart "Will" Clayton (February 7, 1880 – February 8, 1966) was an American business leader and government official. Much of his business career centered on cotton trading. He and his three brothers-in-law formed a partnership that gr ...
Parkway.
The City of Houston
annexed
Annexation (Latin ''ad'', to, and ''nexus'', joining), in international law, is the forcible acquisition of one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. It is generally held to be an illegal act ...
the Intercontinental Airport area in 1965. This annexation, along with the 1965 annexations of the Bayport area, the Fondren Road area, and an area west of Sharpstown, resulted in a gain of of land for the city limits.
Houston Intercontinental Airport, which was the original name for the airport, opened in June 1969.Intercontinental Airport" ''
Houston Airport System
Houston Airport System (HAS) is a department of the City of Houston, Texas, United States that manages city airports. Its administrative offices are on the property of George Bush Intercontinental Airport.Robert Jen, ''Trivia Why's'', vol. 2, p. 55, /ref>Adil Godiwalla, ''Rehabilitation of Runway 9-27 at the Intercontinental Airport of Houston'', in ''The 2020 Vision of Air Transportation'', p. 325, American Society of Civil Engineers, /ref> All scheduled passenger airline service formerly operated from
William P. Hobby Airport
William P. Hobby Airport (colloquially referred to as Hobby Airport, Houston Hobby, or simply Hobby) is an international airport in Houston, Texas, located from downtown Houston. Hobby is Houston's oldest commercial airport, and was its primar ...
moved to Intercontinental upon the airport's completion. Hobby remained open as a
general aviation
General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...
airport and was once again used for scheduled passenger airline jet service two years later when
Southwest Airlines
Southwest Airlines Co., typically referred to as Southwest, is one of the major airlines of the United States and the world's largest low-cost carrier. It is headquartered in Dallas, Texas, and has scheduled service to 121 destinations in the U ...
initiated
intrastate airline
Intrastate airlines in the U.S. are defined as air carriers operating inside of one individual state and thus not flying across state lines. Larger intrastate airlines in the U.S. that operated mainline turboprop and/or jet aircraft were created ...
service nonstop between Hobby and
Dallas Love Field
Dallas Love Field is a city-owned public airport northwest of downtown Dallas, Texas., effective April 10, 2008 It was Dallas' main airport until 1974 when Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) opened. Love Field covers an area of a ...
in 1971.
Houston Intercontinental had been scheduled to open in 1967, but design changes regarding the terminals created cost overruns and construction delays. The prime contractor, R.F. Ball Construction of
San Antonio
("Cradle of Freedom")
, image_map =
, mapsize = 220px
, map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = United States
, subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State
, subdivision_name1 = Texas
, s ...
, sued the city of Houston for $11 million in damages, but assistant city attorney Joseph Guy Rollins Jr. defended the municipality on appeal to the
Texas Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of Texas (SCOTX) is the supreme court, court of last resort for civil matters (including juvenile delinquency cases, which are categorized as civil under the Texas Family Code) in the U.S. state of Texas. A different court, the ...
.
In the late 1980s,
Houston City Council
The Houston City Council is a city council for the city of Houston in the U.S. state of Texas.
Currently, there are sixteen members, 11 elected from council districts and five at-large. The members of the Council are elected every four years, w ...
considered a plan to rename the airport after Mickey Leland—an African-American
U.S. Congressman
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
who died in an
aviation accident
An aviation accident is defined by the Convention on International Civil Aviation Annex 13 as an occurrence associated with the operation of an aircraft, which takes place from the time any person boards the aircraft with the ''intention of fl ...
in
Ethiopia
Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...
. Instead of renaming the whole airport, the city named Mickey Leland International Arrivals Building, which would later become Mickey Leland Terminal D, after the congressman. In April 1997, Houston City Council unanimously voted to rename the airport George Bush Intercontinental Airport/Houston, after
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; pr ...
, the 41st President of the United States. The name change took effect on May 2, 1997.
On August 28, 1990, Continental Airlines agreed to build its maintenance center at George Bush Intercontinental Airport; Continental agreed to do so because the city of Houston agreed to provide city-owned land near the airport.
As of 2007, Terminals A and B remain from the airport's original design.
Lewis W. Cutrer
Lewis Wesley Cutrer (November 5, 1904 – May 7, 1981) served as Mayor of Houston, Texas from 1957–1963. Among his chief accomplishments while in office were the construction of Houston Intercontinental Airport (now George Bush Intercontinen ...
Terminal C opened in 1981, the Mickey Leland International Arrivals Building (now called Terminal D) opened in May 1990, and the new Terminal E partially opened on June 3, 2003. The rest of Terminal E opened on January 7, 2004. Terminal D is the arrival point for all international flights except for United flights, which use Terminal E. Flights from Canada on Air Canada and WestJet arrive in terminal A. Terminal D also held customs and
INS INS or Ins or ''variant'', may refer to:
Places
* Ins, Switzerland, a municipality
* Creech Air Force Base (IATA airport code INS)
* Indonesia, ITF and UNDP code INS
Biology
*'' Ins'', a New World genus of bee flies
* INS, the gene for the insul ...
until the opening of the new Federal Inspection Service (FIS) building, completed on January 25, 2005.
Historical airline service: opening of Intercontinental in 1969 to the early 1980s
At the time of the opening of IAH in 1969, domestic scheduled passenger airline flights were being operated by
American Airlines
American Airlines is a major airlines of the United States, major US-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the world when measured ...
, Braniff International Airways, Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Eastern Air Lines, National Airlines and Houston-based
Texas International Airlines
Texas International Airlines Inc. was a United States airline, known from 1940 until 1947 as Aviation Enterprises, until 1969 as Trans-Texas Airways (TTa), and as Texas International Airlines until 1982, when it merged with Continental Airlines. ...
, which had formerly operated as Trans-Texas Airways. International flights at this time were being flown by Pan American World Airways with ten nonstop flights a week operated with
Boeing 707
The Boeing 707 is an American, long-range, narrow-body airliner, the first jetliner developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
Developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype first flown in 1954, the initial first flew on December 20, ...
jetliners to Mexico City;
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, legally ''Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij Naamloze vennootschap, N.V.'' (literal translation: Royal Aviation Company Plc.), is the flag carrier airline of the Netherlands. KLM is headquartered in Amstelveen, with i ...
operating Douglas DC-8 jets four days a week to Amsterdam via an intermediate stop in Montreal; Braniff International with
Boeing 727
The Boeing 727 is an American narrow-body airliner that was developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
After the heavy 707 quad-jet was introduced in 1958, Boeing addressed the demand for shorter flight lengths from smaller airpo ...
Monterrey
Monterrey ( , ) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern state of Nuevo León, Mexico, and the third largest city in Mexico behind Guadalajara and Mexico City. Located at the foothills of the Sierra Madre Oriental, the city is anchor ...
,
Guadalajara
Guadalajara ( , ) is a metropolis in western Mexico and the capital of the list of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population of 1,385,629 people, making it the 7th largest city by population in Me ...
,
Puerto Vallarta
Puerto Vallarta ( or simply Vallarta) is a Mexican beach resort city situated on the Pacific Ocean's Bahía de Banderas in the Mexican state of Jalisco.
Puerto Vallarta is the second largest urban agglomeration in the state after the Guadala ...
,
Acapulco
Acapulco de Juárez (), commonly called Acapulco ( , also , nah, Acapolco), is a city and major seaport in the state of Guerrero on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, south of Mexico City. Acapulco is located on a deep, semicircular bay and has bee ...
and Mexico City several days a week. Texas International was also operating direct services to Mexico at this time with Douglas DC-9 jets to
Monterrey
Monterrey ( , ) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern state of Nuevo León, Mexico, and the third largest city in Mexico behind Guadalajara and Mexico City. Located at the foothills of the Sierra Madre Oriental, the city is anchor ...
Veracruz
Veracruz (), formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave), is one of the 31 states which, along with Me ...
. KLM introduced
Boeing 747
The Boeing 747 is a large, long-range wide-body airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States between 1968 and 2022.
After introducing the 707 in October 1958, Pan Am wanted a jet times its size, t ...
services in 1971 and by 1974
Air France
Air France (; formally ''Société Air France, S.A.''), stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the flag carrier of France headquartered in Tremblay-en-France. It is a subsidiary of the Air France–KLM Group and a founding member of the SkyTeam global air ...
was operating four nonstop Boeing 747 flights a week to both Paris and Mexico City. Also in 1974, Continental, Pan Am, and National were operating
McDonnell Douglas DC-10
The McDonnell Douglas DC-10 is an American trijet wide-body aircraft manufactured by McDonnell Douglas.
The DC-10 was intended to succeed the DC-8 for long-range flights. It first flew on August 29, 1970; it was introduced on August 5, 1971, ...
wide body jetliners into IAH while Delta was flying
Lockheed L-1011 TriStar
The Lockheed L-1011 TriStar, also known as the L-1011 (pronounced "El-ten-eleven") and TriStar, is an American medium-to-long-range, wide-body trijet airliner built by the Lockheed Corporation. It was the third wide-body airliner to enter comme ...
wide body jets with both types being operated on respective domestic routes from the airport by these airlines; with National also operating Boeing 747s on a Miami–Houston–Los Angeles routing.
By the late 1970s, Cayman Airways had begun nonstop flights between Grand Cayman in the Caribbean and Intercontinental with
BAC One-Eleven
The BAC One-Eleven (or BAC-111/BAC 1-11) was an early jet airliner produced by the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC).
Originally conceived by Hunting Aircraft as a 30-seat jet, before its merger into BAC in 1960, it was launched as an 80-se ...
Boeing 737-400
The Boeing 737 Classic is a series of narrow-body airliners produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes, the second generation of the Boeing 737 series of aircraft.
Development began in 1979 and the first variant, the 737-300, first flew in Februa ...
and Douglas DC-8 jetliners into IAH in addition to the BAC One-Eleven. In 1977, British Caledonian, commenced non-stop flights between London's
Gatwick Airport
Gatwick Airport (), also known as London Gatwick , is a major international airport near Crawley, West Sussex, England, south of Central London. In 2021, Gatwick was the third-busiest airport by total passenger traffic in the UK, after H ...
and Houston with
Boeing 707
The Boeing 707 is an American, long-range, narrow-body airliner, the first jetliner developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
Developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype first flown in 1954, the initial first flew on December 20, ...
British Airways
British Airways (BA) is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a populati ...
continued operating the route, when in December 1987, BA took over B-Cal increasing its frequency on the route to double-daily.
By July 1983, the number of domestic and international air carriers serving Intercontinental had grown substantially. American, Continental, Delta and Eastern had been joined by Piedmont Airlines, Southwest Airlines,
TWA
Trans World Airlines (TWA) was a major American airline which operated from 1930 until 2001. It was formed as Transcontinental & Western Air to operate a route from New York City to Los Angeles via St. Louis, Kansas City, and other stops, with ...
, United Airlines,
USAir
US Airways (formerly USAir) was a major United States airline that operated from 1937 until its merger with American Airlines in 2015. It was originally founded in Pittsburgh as a mail delivery airline called All American Aviation, which soon b ...
McDonnell Douglas DC-10
The McDonnell Douglas DC-10 is an American trijet wide-body aircraft manufactured by McDonnell Douglas.
The DC-10 was intended to succeed the DC-8 for long-range flights. It first flew on August 29, 1970; it was introduced on August 5, 1971, ...
wide body jet services nonstop to
Salt Lake City
Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...
at this time, with this flight also offering one-stop services to
Anchorage, Alaska
Anchorage () is the largest city in the U.S. state of Alaska by population. With a population of 291,247 in 2020, it contains nearly 40% of the state's population. The Anchorage metropolitan area, which includes Anchorage and the neighboring Ma ...
. International services were being operated by Air Canada,
Aviateca
Aviateca S.A. branded Avianca Guatemala is a regional airline headquartered in Guatemala City. Aviateca was under government ownership and remained so until 1989 when it joined the Grupo TACA alliance of Central America and was privatized. It wa ...
,
British Caledonian Airways
British Caledonian (BCal) was a British private independent airline which operated out of Gatwick Airport in south-east England during the 1970s and 1980s. It was created as an alternative to the British government-controlled corporation airlin ...
South African Airways
South African Airways (SAA) is the flag carrier airline of South Africa. Founded in 1934, the airline is headquartered in Airways Park at O. R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg and operated a hub-and-spoke network, serving ten destin ...
, TACA, TWA and
Viasa
Venezolana Internacional de Aviación Sociedad Anónima ( en, JSC Venezuelan International Airways), or VIASA for short, was the Venezuelan flag carrier airline between 1960 and 1997. It was headquartered in the Torre Viasa in Caracas. Launche ...
in addition to Pan Am, KLM, Air France, Aeroméxico and Cayman Airways. Several commuter and regional airlines were also operating passenger services at this time from IAH including Emerald Air (operating as
Pan Am Express
Pan Am Express was a brand name for a code sharing passenger feed service operated by other airlines on behalf of Pan American World Airways (Pan Am). It was founded in the early 1980s, and lasted until the demise of Pan Am in 1991.
History
I ...
), Metro Airlines,
Rio Airways
Rio Airways was a regional passenger airline headquartered in Killeen, Texas, United States, and was operational from 1967 to 1987.
Rio Airways was initially based in Corpus Christi, Texas in 1970. The air carrier initiated service with thre ...
and
Royale Airlines
Royale Airlines was a regional airline with headquarters on the grounds of Shreveport Regional Airport (SHV) in Shreveport, Louisiana.
Operations
Royale operated scheduled passenger flights in Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, Tennessee and Florid ...
. Metro Airlines was operating "cross-town" shuttle services with
de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter
The de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter is a Canadian STOL (Short Takeoff and Landing) utility aircraft developed by de Havilland Canada, which produced the aircraft from 1965 to 1988; Viking Air purchased the type certificate, then restarted ...
turboprops with up to seventeen round trip flights a day between IAH and the
Clear Lake City
Clear Lake City is a master-planned community located in southeast Harris County, Texas, within the Bay Area of Greater Houston. It is the second-largest master-planned community in Houston – behind Kingwood. The majority of the communit ...
STOLport
A STOLport or STOLPORT was an airport designed with STOL (Short Take-Off and Landing) operations in mind, usually for an aircraft class of certain weight and size. The term "STOLport" did not appear to be in common usage as of 2008, although was c ...
located near the
NASA Johnson Space Center
The Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (JSC) is NASA's center for human spaceflight (originally named the Manned Spacecraft Center), where human spaceflight training, research, and flight control are conducted. It was renamed in honor of the late U ...
and also up to nine round trip flights a day between the airport and
Sugar Land Regional Airport
Sugar Land Regional Airport is a city-owned public-use airport located in Sugar Land, Texas (USA), southwest of the central business district of Houston.
Founded privately in the early 1950s as Hull Field, it was renamed in 1990, as Sugar Land ...
as well as other flights to regional destinations in Texas and Louisiana. In addition, at this same time the airport had scheduled helicopter airline services operated by Executive Helicopters with Bell 206L LongRanger helicopters to four Houston-area heliports with up to 36 round trip flights a day.
Recent airline and airport developments: 2000 to the present day
As Houston was not an approved gateway for USA–
London Heathrow
Heathrow Airport (), called ''London Airport'' until 1966 and now known as London Heathrow , is a major international airport in London, England. It is the largest of the six international airports in the London airport system (the others bei ...
flights under the
Bermuda II Agreement
Bermuda II was a bilateral air transport agreement between the governments of the United Kingdom and the United States signed on 23 July 1977 as a renegotiation of the original 1946 Bermuda air services agreement. A new open skies agreement was s ...
,
Continental Airlines
Continental Airlines, simply known as Continental, was a major United States airline founded in 1934 and eventually headquartered in Houston, Texas. It had ownership interests and brand partnerships with several carriers.
Continental started o ...
and
British Airways
British Airways (BA) is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a populati ...
flew their London services to Gatwick Airport. British Airways, keen to allow its passengers access to connections at its larger
Heathrow Airport
Heathrow Airport (), called ''London Airport'' until 1966 and now known as London Heathrow , is a major international airport in London, England. It is the largest of the six international airports in the London airport system (the others be ...
hub, subsequently flew various routing from Houston to Heathrow, via a gateway approved technical stop, allowing its Houston originating flights to land at Heathrow. While keeping a daily Houston–Gatwick flight, BA, for its second daily departure to London operated Houston–
Washington Dulles
Washington Dulles International Airport , typically referred to as Dulles International Airport, Dulles Airport, Washington Dulles, or simply Dulles ( ), is an international airport in the Eastern United States, located in Loudoun County and Fai ...
–London Heathrow, switching the technical stop to
O'Hare International Airport
Chicago O'Hare International Airport , sometimes referred to as, Chicago O'Hare, or simply O'Hare, is the main international airport serving Chicago, Illinois, located on the city's Northwest Side, approximately northwest of the Chicago Loop, ...
and finally to Detroit Metropolitan Airport. In March 2008, the Bermuda II agreement was replaced with the EU–US
Open Skies Agreement
The freedoms of the air are a set of commercial aviation rights granting a country's airlines the privilege to enter and land in another country's airspace. They were formulated as a result of disagreements over the extent of aviation liberalis ...
, allowing Continental Airlines and British Airways to switch its London services from Houston to Heathrow Airport that summer. Currently, BA operates double-daily flights to London's Heathrow Airport with Boeing 777 and Boeing 787 service.
Other airlines that served Houston Intercontinental were
Aviacsa
Consorcio Aviaxsa, S.A. de C.V., doing business as Aviacsa, was a low-cost airline of Mexico with its headquarters in Hangar 1 of Zone C on the property of Mexico City International Airport in Venustiano Carranza, Mexico City, Mexico. The airlin ...
,
America West Airlines
America West Airlines was a major American airline, founded in 1981, with service commencing in 1983, and having reached US$1 billion in annual revenue in 1989, headquartered in Tempe, Arizona. At the time of its acquisition of US Airways, Americ ...
,
Atlantic Southeast Airlines
Atlantic Southeast Airlines (ASA) was a regional U.S. airline based in the A-Tech Center in College Park, Georgia, flying to 144 destinations as a Delta Connection carrier on behalf of Delta Air Lines via a code sharing agreement and, as of ...
Pakistan International Airlines
Pakistan International Airlines ( ur, ; abbreviated PIA, ur, ) is an international airline that serves as the national flag carrier of Pakistan under the administrative control of the Secretary to the Government of Pakistan for Aviation. It ...
,
PrivatAir
Privatair S.A. (corporation), SA was a Switzerland, Swiss airline headquartered in Meyrin, which operated business jets as well as scheduled services on behalf of major airlines. In addition the company operated crew and pilot training facilities. ...
(operating on behalf of
KLM
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, legally ''Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij N.V.'' (literal translation: Royal Aviation Company Plc.), is the flag carrier airline of the Netherlands. KLM is headquartered in Amstelveen, with its hub at nearby Amste ...
) and later
SAS
SAS or Sas may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* ''SAS'' (novel series), a French book series by Gérard de Villiers
* ''Shimmer and Shine'', an American animated children's television series
* Southern All Stars, a Japanese rock ba ...
,
Royal Jordanian
Royal Jordanian Airlines ( ar, ; transliterated: ''Al-Malakiyyah al-'Urduniyyah''), formerly known as Alia Royal Jordanian Airlines, is the flag carrier airline of Jordan with its head office in the capital, Amman. The airline operates scheduled ...
(then called ALIA),
SeaPort Airlines
SeaPort Airlines was a US-based regional airline with its headquarters at Portland International Airport in Portland, Oregon.
It operated scheduled service from its bases at Portland International Airport (PDX) (Pacific Northwest region) and M ...
,
South African Airways
South African Airways (SAA) is the flag carrier airline of South Africa. Founded in 1934, the airline is headquartered in Airways Park at O. R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg and operated a hub-and-spoke network, serving ten destin ...
, UltrAir and
World Airways
World Airways, Inc. was a United States airline headquartered in Peachtree City, Georgia in Greater Atlanta. The company operated mostly non-scheduled services but did fly scheduled passenger services as well, notably with McDonnell Douglas DC ...
.
On January 7, 2009, a Continental Airlines Boeing 737-800 departing Bush Intercontinental was the first U.S. commercial jet to fly on a mix of conventional
jet fuel
Jet fuel or aviation turbine fuel (ATF, also abbreviated avtur) is a type of aviation fuel designed for use in aircraft powered by gas-turbine engines. It is colorless to straw-colored in appearance. The most commonly used fuels for commercial a ...
and
biofuel
Biofuel is a fuel that is produced over a short time span from biomass, rather than by the very slow natural processes involved in the formation of fossil fuels, such as oil. According to the United States Energy Information Administration (E ...
.
In December 2009, the Houston City Council approved a plan to allow Midway Cos. to develop of land owned by
Houston Airport System
Houston Airport System (HAS) is a department of the City of Houston, Texas, United States that manages city airports. Its administrative offices are on the property of George Bush Intercontinental Airport.Boeing 777-200ER services to
Lagos, Nigeria
Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national capital of Nigeria until December 1991 fo ...
; this was the airport's first nonstop flight to the African continent. In May 2016, United Airlines ended the Houston–Lagos service citing the inability to repatriate revenue sold locally in Nigerian currency.
South African Airways
South African Airways (SAA) is the flag carrier airline of South Africa. Founded in 1934, the airline is headquartered in Airways Park at O. R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg and operated a hub-and-spoke network, serving ten destin ...
previously operated nonstop Boeing 747SP services in 1983 between Houston and
Amilcar Cabral International Airport
The Amilcar was a French automobile manufactured from 1921 to 1940.
History
Foundation and location
Amilcar was founded in July 1921 by Joseph Lamy and Emile Akar. The name "Amilcar" was an imperfect anagram of the partners' names. The b ...
islands off the coast of Africa as a refueling stop for its flights between Houston and Johannesburg, South Africa. Continental was also planning to commence nonstop Boeing 787 services to
Auckland
Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...
in New Zealand but these plans were canceled as a reaction to new international flights at Hobby Airport announced by Southwest Airlines. United Airlines — which acquired Continental and had fully integrated it into the United brand by early 2012 — had postponed the introduction of this service owing to delays associated with the
Boeing 787 Dreamliner
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is an American wide-body jet airliner developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
After dropping its unconventional Sonic Cruiser project, Boeing announced the conventional 7E7 on January 29, 2003, ...
. Its 787s were put to use on other international routes, however, including Houston–London and United's then-new Houston–Lagos nonstop flights. The Houston–Auckland nonstop route was then begun by Air New Zealand using a Boeing 777-200ER. In 2014, United Airlines added a second daily flight to Tokyo and new routes to Munich, Germany; Santiago, Chile; and Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, and it restarted the Aruba route, which had been canceled in 2012.
In August 2012,
Lufthansa
Deutsche Lufthansa AG (), commonly shortened to Lufthansa, is the flag carrier of Germany. When combined with its subsidiaries, it is the second- largest airline in Europe in terms of passengers carried. Lufthansa is one of the five founding m ...
switched its daily Houston–Frankfurt route to an
Airbus A380
The Airbus A380 is a large wide-body airliner that was developed and produced by Airbus. It is the world's largest passenger airliner and only full-length double-deck jet airliner.
Airbus studies started in 1988, and the project was annou ...
from a
Boeing 747-400
The Boeing 747-400 is a large, long-range wide-body airliner produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes, an advanced variant of the initial Boeing 747.
The "Advanced Series 300" was announced at the September 1984 Farnborough Airshow, targeting ...
, making Houston the first airport in Texas to receive A380 service. In addition, Lufthansa has also operated the Boeing 747-8 on the route. Dubai-based carrier Emirates has also operated the A380 on the Dubai-Houston route.
In 2014, Taiwan-based carrier
EVA Air
EVA Airways Corporation (pronounced as three letters: ; ) (), of which "EVA" stands for Evergreen Airways, is a Taiwanese international airline based at Taoyuan International Airport near Taipei, Taiwan, operating passenger and dedicated carg ...
announced it would launch nonstop flights from Houston to Taipei on June 19, 2015. This began with three flights a week on the 777-300ER. The frequency was increased to four times a week starting July 1, 2015, and to six times a week starting March 28, 2016. EVA Air has made these flights daily since the end of 2016. This marks the first time nonstop flights are being operated between Taipei and any airport in Texas.
IAH became the first airport in North America to have nonstop flights to every inhabited continent in 2017, with the addition of Air New Zealand, but lost this claim when Atlas Air ended its nonstop flight to
Luanda
Luanda () is the capital and largest city in Angola. It is Angola's primary port, and its major industrial, cultural and urban centre. Located on Angola's northern Atlantic coast, Luanda is Angola's administrative centre, its chief seaport ...
. The airport regained this status in December 2019 when Ethiopian Airlines launched service to Lomé in
Togo
Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its c ...
and
Addis Ababa
Addis Ababa (; am, አዲስ አበባ, , new flower ; also known as , lit. "natural spring" in Oromo), is the capital and largest city of Ethiopia. It is also served as major administrative center of the Oromia Region. In the 2007 census, t ...
in
Ethiopia
Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...
.
On September 7, 2017,
United Airlines
United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois.
announced its new route from Houston to
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
with the 787-9 Dreamliner. The Houston–Sydney service, at , is currently United's longest nonstop route. Additionally, it surpassed
Emirates
Emirates may refer to:
* United Arab Emirates, a Middle Eastern country
* Emirate, any territory ruled by an emir
** Gulf emirates, emirates located on the Persian Gulf
** Emirates of the United Arab Emirates, the individual emirates
* The Emirat ...
' Dubai route as the longest flight at IAH.
In January 2019, Ethiopian Airlines became the latest international carrier to announce new service, three-times weekly, to Addis Ababa. The route will be Addis Ababa–Lome–Houston, and the airline is replacing its Los Angeles gateway for Houston. The route will be serviced using the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and will be the city's only gateway to Africa after service to Lagos, Nigeria, was canceled by United Airlines. Service was supposed to begin in June 2019, but was delayed until December 2019. Service began on December 16, 2019.
In October 2020, Southwest Airlines announced it would return to Bush airport for the first time since it stopped serving the airport in 2005. Service began in April 2021 with five nonstop destinations, augmenting the several dozen destinations it serves from Hobby airport.
On February 28, 2022, Caribbean Airlines announced a new international route to IAH. A seasonal flight from Georgetown, Guyana to Houston would be operated by their new
Boeing 737 MAX
The Boeing 737 MAX is the fourth generation of the Boeing 737, a narrow-body aircraft, narrow-body airliner manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes (BCA), a division of American company Boeing. It succeeds the Boeing 737 Next Generation (NG ...
aircraft.
On July 20, 2022, Spirit Airlines crew base plans were cleared. It was also announced that Spirit will bring 500 new jobs to the Houston Area. They added Bush airport as their tenth crew base and Focus city.
Future
George Bush Intercontinental Airport is currently undergoing a $1.3 billion capital improvement program called the IAH Terminal Redevelopment Program (ITRP). The flagship project of this program is the construction of the Mickey Leland International Terminal (MLIT), which will consolidate what is today Terminal D and Terminal E into one centralized terminal including a shared ticketing, departure, and arrival hall. Terminal D will be extensively refurbished with a new concourse, Pier D West, being constructed. The ITRP should be complete by late 2024 or early 2025. Future expansion plans call for a Central D and East D pier to be built as passenger numbers grow, with the full project being capable of handling 33 million enplaned international passengers annually.
Facilities
Terminals
George Bush Intercontinental Airport has five terminals and 161 total gates- 131 jetway gates and 30 hardstands. The Skyway provides airside connections between all five terminals. The
Subway
Subway, Subways, The Subway, or The Subways may refer to:
Transportation
* Subway, a term for underground rapid transit rail systems
* Subway (underpass), a type of walkway that passes underneath an obstacle
* Subway (George Bush Interconti ...
provides landside connections between the five terminals and the airport hotel. All non-precleared international flights are processed in Terminals D & E; Terminal D has gates to support ADG Group VI aircraft, such as an
Airbus A380
The Airbus A380 is a large wide-body airliner that was developed and produced by Airbus. It is the world's largest passenger airliner and only full-length double-deck jet airliner.
Airbus studies started in 1988, and the project was annou ...
and a Boeing 747-8.
*Terminal A contains 20 gates.
*Terminal B contains 40 gates, including 30 hardstands.
*Terminal C contains 29 gates.
*Terminal D contains 12 gates.
*Terminal E contains 30 gates.
Ground transportation
From Downtown Houston one can travel to George Bush Intercontinental by taking
Interstate 69
Interstate 69 (I-69) is an Interstate Highway in the United States currently consisting of 10 unconnected segments with an original continuous segment from Indianapolis, Indiana, northeast to the Canadian border in Port Huron, Michigan, at ...
/
U.S. Route 59
U.S. Route 59 (US 59) is a north–south United States highway (though it was signed east–west in parts of Texas). A latecomer to the U.S. numbered route system, US 59 is now a border-to-border route, part of the NAFTA Corridor Highway Sy ...
(Eastex Freeway) to Beltway 8 or to Will Clayton Parkway, and access the airport from either road. From Downtown one could also take Interstate 45 (North Freeway), connect to Beltway 8, and enter the airport from the Beltway. The Hardy Toll Road has an exit from the north or south to the airport.
The
Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, Texas
The Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County (stylized as METRO) is a major public transportation agency based in Houston, Texas, United States. It operates bus, light rail, bus rapid transit, HOV and HOT lanes, and paratransit service (u ...
, or METRO, offers bus services available at the south side of Terminal C. The 102 Bush IAH Express serves the airport. Previously, METRO also operated an express bus service known as Airport Direct, launched in the summer of 2008, which traveled from Downtown Houston to Terminal C via the HOV lane of the Eastex Freeway (I-69)/ (US 59). In 2010, in an effort to increase ridership and maximize revenue, METRO reduced the fare of Airport Direct and closed a dedicated passenger plaza for the service in Downtown Houston; instead, the bus stopped at several downtown hotels. The fare each way was reduced from $15 to $4.50. The fare change increased ridership levels but reduced cash flow. METRO consistently provided the service at an operational loss. However, in the summer of 2011, METRO announced it was discontinuing the Airport Direct service, while the Route 102 local service (which serves the greater
Greenspoint
Greater Greenspoint, also referred to as the North Houston District, is a business district and a suburban neighborhood in northern Harris County, Texas, United States, located mostly within the city limits of Houston. Centered around the juncti ...
business and residential district before traveling on I-45 to access downtown) continued to operate.
As of 2016 the Taiwanese airline EVA Air operates a shuttle bus service from Bush IAH to
Richardson
Richardson may refer to:
People
* Richardson (surname), an English and Scottish surname
* Richardson Gang, a London crime gang in the 1960s
* Richardson Dilworth, Mayor of Philadelphia (1956-1962)
Places Australia
* Richardson, Australian Cap ...
Houston Chronicle
The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Texas, United States. , it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. With it ...
''. January 11, 2008. Retrieved November 20, 2012.
Carriers provide scheduled bus and shuttle services to locations from IAH to NRG Park/ NRG Astrodome, Downtown Houston,
Uptown
Uptown may refer to:
Neighborhoods or regions in several cities
United States
* Uptown, entertainment district east of Downtown and Midtown Albuquerque, New Mexico
* Uptown Charlotte, North Carolina
* Uptown, area surrounding the University of C ...
,
Greenway Plaza
Greenway Plaza is a business district located along Interstate 69 (U.S. Highway 59) within the Interstate 610 loop in southwestern Houston, Texas, west of Downtown and east of Uptown. The district is located immediately west of Upper Kirby, n ...
, the
Texas Medical Center
The Texas Medical Center (TMC) is a medical district and neighborhood in south-central Houston, Texas, United States, immediately south of the Museum District and west of Texas State Highway 288. Over 60 medical institutions, largely concentrate ...
College Station
College station or College Station may refer to:
Transportation
*College station (MetroLink), a St. Louis light rail station in Saint Clair County, Illinois, United States
*College station (PNR), a Philippine National Railways station in Los Baño ...
and
William P. Hobby Airport
William P. Hobby Airport (colloquially referred to as Hobby Airport, Houston Hobby, or simply Hobby) is an international airport in Houston, Texas, located from downtown Houston. Hobby is Houston's oldest commercial airport, and was its primar ...
. Super Shuttle uses shared vans to provide services from George Bush Intercontinental Airport to the surrounding communities.
Artwork
Ed Carpenter's "Light Wings", a multicolored glass sculpture suspended below a skylight, adorns the Terminal A North Concourse. In Terminal A, South Concourse stands Terry Allen's "Countree Music." Allen's piece is a cast bronze tree that plays instrumental music by
Joe Ely
Joe Ely (born February 9, 1947) is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist, whose music touches on honky-tonk, Texas Country, Tex-Mex and rock and roll.
He has had a genre-crossing career, performing with Bruce Springsteen, Uncle Tupelo ...
and
David Byrne
David Byrne (; born 14 May 1952) is a Scottish-American singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, writer, music theorist, visual artist and filmmaker. He was a founding member and the principal songwriter, lead singer, and guitarist of ...
, though the music is normally turned off. The corridor leading to Terminal A displays
Leamon Green
Leamon Green (born 1959) is an Americans, American visual artist who works in different types of media.
Biography
Green was born in 1959 in the town of Anniston, Alabama. His education includes a Master of Fine Arts at Temple University, Philade ...
's "Passing Through," a etched glass wall depicting airport travelers.
The elevators in Terminal B are cased in stainless steel accordion shaped structures designed by Rachel Hecker. The corridor leading to Terminal B has
Dixie Friend Gay Dixie Friend Gay is a United States, U.S. visual artist who works in a variety of media and is noted for work exploring the power of nature, particularly public art.
She was born as Dixie Friend in Oklahoma and raised on a cattle ranch. She taught ...
's "Houston Bayou." This work is composed of an Byzantine glass mosaic mural depicting scenes from Houston's bayous and wetlands, several bronze animals embedded in the floor, and five mosaic columns.
"Lights Spikes," designed by Jay Baker, was created for the 1990 G7 Summit when it was hosted by President George H. W. Bush in Houston. The sculpture was relocated to the airport outside E Terminal after the meetings, from its original location in front of the
George R. Brown Convention Center
The George R. Brown Convention Center (GRB), opened on September 26, 1987, is located on the east side of Downtown Houston, Texas, United States.
The center was named for internationally recognized entrepreneur, engineer, civic leader, philan ...
. The columns lean at a ten-degree angle toward a central point that represents Houston. The distance between each "spike" and this point is relative to the distance between Houston and the capitals of the countries the flags represent. The countries represented are the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Japan, Canada, Italy and Germany, as well as the European community. The airport has a display of lighted modern sculptures between terminals C and D.
'' Radiant Fountains'', LED-illuminated towers on JFK Boulevard, is the most prominent sculpture around the airport.
Other facilities
The airport houses an on-site hotel, a
Marriott
Marriott may refer to:
People
*Marriott (surname)
Corporations
* Marriott Corporation, founded as Hot Shoppes, Inc. in 1927; split into Marriott International and Host Marriott Corporation in 1993
* Marriott International, international hotel ...
, between Terminals B and C and is accessible via the landslide inter-terminal train which runs every 3 minutes from 3:30 am to 12:30 am every day. The hotel has 573 rooms, one restaurant and bar, a concierge lounge, a coffee shop, health club, sundry shop and a conference center.
A
VOR
VOR or vor may refer to:
Organizations
* Vale of Rheidol Railway in Wales
* Voice of Russia, a radio broadcaster
* Volvo Ocean Race, a yacht race
Science, technology and medicine
* VHF omnidirectional range, a radio navigation aid used in a ...
station, identified as IAH, is located on the airport property, south of runway 33L.
Airlines and destinations
Passenger
Cargo
Statistics
Top destinations
Airline market share
Annual traffic
Accidents and incidents
*February 1, 1975: a
Douglas DC-3
The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner
manufactured by Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II.
It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper version ...
N15HC of Horizon Properties crashed on approach when the port wing collided with an electricity pylon. The aircraft was on a domestic non-scheduled passenger flight from
Lawton Municipal Airport
Lawton may refer to:
Places
* Lawton, Alberta, Canada
* Lawton, Havana, a neighborhood in Diez de Octubre, Havana City, Cuba
* Lawton Avenue, a major thoroughfare in Fort Bonifacio, Metro Manila, Philippines
* Church Lawton, a small village and c ...
, Oklahoma, to Huntsville Regional Airport, Texas. The flight was diverted to Houston for weather. Of the 16 occupants, two crew and three passengers were killed.
*August 23, 1990: a Grumman Gulfstream I operated by Rowan Drilling Company; power loss in an engine after take-off resulted in a failed attempt to regain altitude en route to
New Orleans International Airport
Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport ( French: ''Aéroport international Louis Armstrong de La Nouvelle-Orléans'') is an international airport under Class B airspace in Kenner, Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is ...
. The aircraft crashed on departure from Runway 15L and came to rest midfield along a parallel taxiway. There were three fatalities.
*On September 11, 1991,
Continental Express Flight 2574
Continental Express Flight 2574 (Jetlink 2574) was a scheduled domestic passenger airline flight operated by Britt Airways from Laredo International Airport in Laredo, Texas to Houston Intercontinental Airport (IAH) (now called George Bush Inte ...
was on descent to the airport when it suffered a structural failure because of improper maintenance, killing all 14 people on board.
*February 19, 1996: a Continental Airlines
McDonnell Douglas DC-9-32
The McDonnell Douglas DC-9 is an American five-abreast single-aisle aircraft designed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. It was initially produced by the developer company as the Douglas DC-9 until August 1967 and then by McDonnell Douglas.
After ...
Ronald Reagan National Airport
Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport , sometimes referred to colloquially as National Airport, Washington National, Reagan National Airport, DCA, Reagan, or simply National, is an international airport in Arlington County, Virginia, across ...
arriving in Houston, Texas, landed with its landing gear in the stowed position on Runway 27. The aircraft slid for on its belly before stopping on the runway left of the runway centerline approximately at the departure end of the runway. There were no fatalities and only minor injuries. The aircraft was written off.
*January 13, 1998, a
Learjet 25
The Learjet 25 is an American ten-seat (two crew and eight passengers), twin-engine, high-speed business jet aircraft manufactured by Learjet. It is a stretched version of the Learjet 24.
Development
The first Model 25 flew on August 12, 196 ...
operated by American Corporate Aviation crashed east of IAH descending below the glideslope. Both occupants were killed.
*February 23, 2019: Atlas Air Flight 3591, a Boeing 767-300ERF operated for Amazon Air crashed into Trinity Bay while on approach, southeast of the airport. All three crew members were killed.