| George Bush Intercontinental Airport Houston-Intercontinental |
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|---|---|---|---|
| IATA: IAH – ICAO: KIAH – FAA LID: IAH | |||
| Summary | |||
| Airport type | Public | ||
| Owner | City of Houston | ||
| Operator | Houston Airport System | ||
| Serves | Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown | ||
| Location | Houston, Texas, United States | ||
| Hub for | United Airlines | ||
| Elevation AMSL | 97 ft / 30 m | ||
| Coordinates | |||
| Website | |||
| Maps | |||
| FAA airport diagram | |||
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IAH
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| Runways | |||
| Direction | Length | Surface | |
| ft | m | ||
| 15L/33R | 12,001 | 3,658 | Concrete |
| 15R/33L | 9,999 | 3,048 | Concrete |
| 9/27 | 10,000 | 3,048 | Concrete |
| 8L/26R | 9,000 | 2,743 | Concrete |
| 8R/26L | 9,402 | 2,866 | Concrete |
| Statistics (2009) | |||
| Passengers | 40,479,569 | ||
| Aircraft operations | 538,168 | ||
| Sources: Airports Council International[1] | |||
George Bush Intercontinental Airport, (IATA: IAH, ICAO: KIAH, FAA LID: IAH)[2] is a Class B international airport in Houston, Texas, serving the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area, the sixth-largest metropolitan area in the United States. Located 20 miles (32 km)[3][4] north of Downtown Houston between Interstate 45 and U.S. Highway 59. George Bush Intercontinental Airport has scheduled flights to domestic and international destinations. The airport is named after George H. W. Bush, the 41st President of the United States.[5]
George Bush Intercontinental Airport served 40,479,569 passengers[1] in 2010 making the airport the seventh busiest for total passengers in North America. In 2006, the airport was named the fastest growing of the top ten airports in the United States by the United States Department of Transportation. Houston Bush Intercontinental is the largest hub for United Airlines with an average of 800 daily departures.[6]
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The site for Bush Intercontinental Airport was originally purchased by a group of civic-minded Houston businessmen in 1957 to preserve the site until the city of Houston could formulate a plan for a second airport. The holding company for the land was named the Jet Era Ranch Corporation, but a typo-graphical 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 eastern entrance to the airport was named Jetero Boulevard. Most of Jetero Boulevard was subsequently renamed Will Clayton Parkway.
The City of Houston annexed the Bush 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 total gain of 51,251 acres (20,741 ha) of land for the city limits.[7]
Houston Intercontinental Airport, as it was originally known, opened in June 1969.[5] All passenger traffic from William P. Hobby Airport moved to Intercontinental upon the airport's completion. Hobby remained open as a general aviation airport and reopened two years later when Southwest Airlines initiated domestic services.[8]
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, sued the city of Houston for $11 million in damages, but assistant city attorney Joseph Guy Rollins, Jr. successfully defended the municipality on appeal to the Texas Supreme Court.[9]
In the late 1980s, Houston City Council considered a plan to rename the airport after Mickey Leland—an African-American congressman who died in an aviation accident in Ethiopia. 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. Houston renamed the airport George Bush Intercontinental Airport/Houston, after George H. W. Bush, the 41st President of the United States.[5]
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 so that Continental could build its maintenance facility there.[10]
As of 2007, Terminals A and B remain from the original design of the airport. Lewis W. Cutrer 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 arriving into Houston except for flights operated by Continental Airlines which uses Terminal E. Terminal D also held customs and INS until the opening of the new Federal Inspection Service (FIS) building, completed on January 25, 2005.[11]
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 and biofuel.[12]
In December 2009 the Houston City Council approved a plan to allow Midway Cos. to develop 10 acres (4.0 ha) of land owned by Houston Airport System on the grounds of Bush Airport. Midway plans to develop a travel center for the airport's rental car facility. The city dictated that the developer needed to place a convenience store and gas station facility, a flight information board, a fast casual restaurant, and a sit-down restaurant. Beyond the required buildings, the developer plans to add an office facility between 20,000 square feet (1,900 m2) and 40,000 square feet (3,700 m2) and additional retail; the developer may add a hotel.[13]
In 2011 Continental Airlines began service to Lagos; this was the airport's first nonstop flight to Africa.[14]
Houston will become the 6th US city to have A380 service when Lufthansa transitions its Houston-Frankfurt route from 747-400 to A380 service on August 1, 2012.[15]
George Bush Intercontinental Airport served 40,479,569 passengers[[1] in 2010 making the airport the eighth busiest for total passengers in North America. IAH is the seventh largest international passenger gateway in the United States[16] and the 6th busiest airport in the world for total aircraft movements. In 2006, the United States Department of Transportation named George Bush Intercontinental Airport the fastest growing of the top ten airports in the United States.[17] The Houston Airport System (HAS) states that the airport's service area includes the following Greater Houston counties: Brazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Liberty, Montgomery, and Waller.[18]
The airport currently ranks third in the United States for non-stop domestic and international service with 182 destinations, trailing Chicago O'Hare International Airport with 192 destinations and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport with 239 destinations. Furthermore, about 45 percent of the airport's passengers begin or terminate (O&D) their journey at the airport.[19] Bush Intercontinental ranks first among the major United States airports with the highest on-time performance, according to a 2010 United States Department of Transportation report.[20]
As of 2007, with 31 destinations in Mexico, the airport offers service to more Mexican destinations than any other United States airport.[21] The airport will become the fourth in the world, after Dubai International Airport, Abu Dhabi International Airport, and OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, to service all six continents when first services commence to Auckland, New Zealand. United Airlines has postponed the introduction of this service owing to delays associated with the Boeing 787.[22]
The Houston Air Route Traffic Control Center, located on the airport grounds at 16600 JFK Boulevard,[23] serves as the airport's ARTCC.[24][25] The HAS administrative offices are also on the airport property.[25][26]
There are three main entrances into IAH's terminal areas. JFK Boulevard is the main artery into the airport and intersects with Greens Road becoming a freeway. Will Clayton Parkway runs east to west is another main road for IAH. The Hardy Tollway Connector runs from west to east connecting JFK Boulevard to the Hardy Toll Road.
The airport has a total of five terminals encompassing 250 acres (1 km²):
| Airlines | Destinations | Terminal |
|---|---|---|
| Aeroméxico | Seasonal: Mexico City | D |
| Aeroméxico Connect | Mexico City, Monterrey | D |
| Air Canada Express operated by Jazz Air | Calgary, Montréal-Trudeau, Toronto-Pearson | A |
| Air France | Paris-Charles de Gaulle | D |
| Alaska Airlines | Seattle/Tacoma | A |
| American Airlines | Dallas/Fort Worth, Miami | A |
| American Eagle | Chicago-O'Hare, Los Angeles | A |
| British Airways | London-Heathrow | D |
| Delta Air Lines | Atlanta Seasonal: Detroit, Minneapolis/St. Paul |
A |
| Delta Connection operated by Comair | Minneapolis/St. Paul, New York LaGuardia [begins July 15, 2012] | A |
| Delta Connection operated by Compass Airlines | Detroit, Minneapolis/St. Paul | A |
| Delta Connection operated by ExpressJet | Atlanta, Detroit | A |
| Delta Connection operated by Mesaba Airlines | Detroit, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Salt Lake City | A |
| Delta Connection operated by Pinnacle Airlines | Atlanta, Memphis | A |
| Delta Connection operated by SkyWest Airlines | Salt Lake City, Minneapolis/St. Paul | A |
| Delta Connection operated by Shuttle America | New York-LaGuardia [begins July 11, 2012] | A |
| Emirates | Dubai | D |
| KLM | Amsterdam | D |
| Lufthansa | Frankfurt | D |
| Qatar Airways | Doha | D |
| Singapore Airlines | Moscow-Domodedovo, Singapore | D |
| TACA | San Salvador Seasonal: Roatán |
D |
| United Airlines | Albuquerque, Anchorage, Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore, Boston, Calgary, Charlotte, Chicago-O'Hare, Cleveland, Columbus (OH), Dallas/Fort Worth, Denver, Detroit, Edmonton, El Paso, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Honolulu, Indianapolis, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, McAllen, Miami, Minneapolis/St. Paul, New Orleans, New York-LaGuardia, Newark, Oklahoma City [begins February 16, 2012], Omaha, Ontario, Orange County, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Portland (OR), Raleigh/Durham, Reno/Tahoe, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose (CA), San Juan, Seattle/Tacoma, Tampa, Tulsa, Vancouver, Washington-Dulles, Washington-National, West Palm Beach Seasonal: Eagle/Vail, Gunnison/Crested Butte, Hayden/Steamboat Springs, Montrose, Tucson |
C, E |
| United Airlines | Acapulco, Amsterdam, Aruba, Belize City, Bogotá, Bonaire, Buenos Aires-Ezeiza, Cancún, Caracas, Cozumel, Frankfurt, Grand Cayman, Guadalajara, Guatemala City, Lagos, León/El Bajío, Liberia (CR), Lima, London-Heathrow, Managua, Mazatlán, Mérida, Mexico City, Montego Bay, Monterrey, Panama City, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Port of Spain, Puerto Vallarta, Quito, Rio de Janeiro-Galeão, Roatán, San José (CR), San José del Cabo, San Pedro Sula, San Salvador, São Paulo-Guarulhos, Tegucigalpa, Tokyo-Narita Seasonal: Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo, Nassau |
E |
| United Express operated by Colgan Air | Alexandria (LA), Austin, Baton Rouge, Beaumont, College Station, Dallas-Love, Dallas/Fort Worth, Del Rio, Jackson, Killeen, Lafayette (LA), Lake Charles, Little Rock, McAllen, Midland/Odessa, Monroe (LA), New Orleans, Oklahoma City, San Antonio, Shreveport, Tulsa, Tyler, Victoria (TX), Waco | A |
| United Express operated by Chautauqua Airlines | Atlanta, Baton Rouge, Columbus (OH), Dallas/Fort Worth, Louisville, Oklahoma City, St. Louis | B |
| United Express operated by ExpressJet | Aguascalientes, Albuquerque, Alexandria (LA), Amarillo, Asheville, Atlanta, Austin, Baton Rouge, Birmingham (AL), Brownsville, Cedar Rapids, Charleston (SC), Charleston (WV), Charlotte, Chihuahua, Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky, Ciudad del Carmen, Colorado Springs, Columbia (SC), Columbus (OH), Corpus Christi, Dallas/Fort Worth, Dallas-Love, Dayton, Denver, Detroit, Durango, El Paso, Fayetteville (AR), Fort Walton Beach, Grand Junction, Grand Rapids, Greensboro, Greenville/Spartanburg, Guadalajara, Gulfport/Biloxi, Harlingen, Hobbs, Huatulco, Huntsville, Indianapolis, Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo, Jackson, Jacksonville, Kansas City, Knoxville, Lafayette (LA), Laredo, León/El Bajio, Lexington, Little Rock, Louisville, Lubbock, Manzanillo, Mazatlán, Memphis, Mexico City, Midland/Odessa, Milwaukee, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Mobile, Monroe (LA), Monterrey, Morelia, Nashville, New Orleans, Oaxaca, Oklahoma City, Omaha, Pensacola, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Puebla, Querétaro, Raleigh/Durham, Richmond, Salt Lake City, Saltillo, San Antonio, San José del Cabo, San Luis Potosí, Savannah, Shreveport, St. Louis, Tampico, Toluca, Toronto-Pearson, Torreón/Gómez Palacio, Tucson, Tulsa, Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Veracruz, Villahermosa, West Palm Beach, Wichita Seasonal: Acapulco, Fort Myers, Montrose, Nassau, Norfolk, St. Louis |
B |
| United Express operated by Shuttle America | Albuquerque, Chicago-O'Hare, Denver, Montréal-Trudeau, Washington-Dulles | C |
| United Express operated by SkyWest Airlines | Albuquerque, Atlanta, Austin, Bakersfield, Charlotte, Chicago-O'Hare, Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky, Colorado Springs, Columbus (OH), Dallas-Love, Dallas/Fort Worth, Denver, Des Moines, Detroit, El Paso, Fort Myers, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Midland/Odessa, Milwaukee, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Oklahoma City, Omaha, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Raleigh/Durham, Salt Lake City, Toronto-Pearson, Tucson, Washington-Dulles Seasonal: Aspen, Norfolk, Palm Springs, St. Louis |
B, C |
| United Express operated by Trans States Airlines | Nashville, Oklahoma City Seasonal: St. Louis |
C |
| US Airways | Charlotte, Philadelphia, Phoenix | A |
| VivaAerobus | Monterrey | D |
Atlas Air offers a thrice-weekly charter service to Luanda, Angola on behalf of SonAir. Atlas Air replaced World Airways in June 2010.[37]
These charter flights are intended to service companies operating in the oil industry in Angola which are members of the US/Africa Energy Association (USAEA).[38]
| Rank | City | Passengers | Top Carriers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mexico City, Mexico | 599,796 | AeroMexico, AeroMexico Connect, United |
| 2 | Cancún, Mexico | 573,828 | United |
| 3 | London (Heathrow), United Kingdom | 479,784 | British Airways, United |
| 4 | San Jose, Costa Rica | 390,732 | United |
| 5 | Calgary, Canada | 298,428 | Air Canada Express, United |
| 6 | Amsterdam, the Netherlands | 293,340 | KLM, PrivatAir, United |
| 7 | Guatemala City, Guatemala | 272,496 | United |
| 8 | Panama City, Panama | 217,356 | United |
| 9 | Frankfurt, Germany | 198,987 | Lufthansa, United |
| 10 | Puerto Vallarta, Mexico | 196,200 | United |
| Rank | City | Passengers per 12 months | Top Carriers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Los Angeles, CA | 609,000 | American, United |
| 2 | Chicago, IL | 585,000 | American, United |
| 3 | Denver, CO | 536,000 | United |
| 4 | Newark, NJ | 531,000 | United |
| 5 | Phoenix, AZ | 441,000 | United, US Airways |
| 6 | Las Vegas, NV | 423,000 | United |
| 7 | San Francisco, CA | 418,000 | United |
| 8 | New Orleans, LA | 415,000 | United |
| 9 | Dallas/Fort Worth, TX | 403,000 | American, United |
| 10 | Atlanta, GA | 394,000 | Delta, United |
An above ground train called TerminaLink connects Terminals A, B, C, D, E and the International Arrivals Building (IAB) for those with connecting flights in different terminals and provides sterile airside connections. This allows passengers to travel within the airport without having to re-enter security. TerminaLink has four stops: Terminal A, Terminal B, Terminal C, and Terminals D/E including the IAB. The airport has expanded the line to Terminal A at a cost of US $100 million. Construction began on the extension in early 2008 and was completed in 2010.[41]
An underground inter-terminal train outside of the sterile zone connects all five terminals and the airport hotel which can be accessed by all. This system is based on the WEDway PeopleMover technology developed by the Walt Disney Company.
The Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, Texas, or METRO, offers bus service available at the south side of Terminal C. The 102 Bush IAH Express and the METRO Airport Direct serve the airport.[42][43][44] In 2010 METRO announced that it would reduce the fare of the Airport Direct service and close the passenger plaza; instead the bus would stop at hotels in Downtown Houston.[45] The fare each way was reduced from $15 to $4.50. The fare change increased ridership levels and decreased cash flow. METRO has consistently provided the service at an operational loss.[46] METRO announced that it was discontinuing the Airport Direct service, while the Route 102 local service will continue to operate.[47]
Courtesy vans are operated by various hotels and motels in and around the Houston Area. There are courtesy telephones in the baggage claim areas to request pick-up for most hotels and motels.[42]
Regularly scheduled bus and shuttle service is provided by various carriers to locations from IAH to Reliant Park/Reliant Astrodome, Downtown Houston, Uptown, Greenway Plaza, the Texas Medical Center, Westside hotels, the city of College Station and William P. Hobby Airport. Super Shuttle also provides service from George Bush Intercontinental Airport to the surrounding communities via shared vans.[42]
Taxis can be hailed through the Ground Transportation employees outside each terminal. All destinations within Houston's city limits to/from Bush Intercontinental Airport are charged according to the flat Zone Rate or the meter rate.[42]
Taxi drivers at Bush airport wait longer to be dispatched for pickups of passengers than drivers at other airports in major U.S. cities. Josh Harkinson of the Houston Press said "Houston cabbies can easily wait six hours." The lives of many taxi drivers working at the airport revolve around the airport's taxi lot, nicknamed "Cabbieville." Taxi drivers servicing the airport come from many countries around the world.[48]
Ed Carpenter's "Light Wings", a multicolored glass sculpture suspended below a sky light, adorns the Terminal A North Concourse.[49] 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 and David Byrne, though the music is normally turned off. The corridor leading to Terminal A displays Leamon Green's "Passing Through," a 200-foot (61 m) etched glass wall depicting airport travelers.[50]
The elevators in Terminal B are cased in stainless steel accordion shaped structures designed by Rachel Hecker.[51] The corridor leading to Terminal B has Dixie Friend Gay's "Houston Bayou." This work is composed of an 8 x 75 ft (2.4 x 23 m) 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 was created by Jay Baker, shown in the photo, were 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 of E Terminal after the meetings from its original location in front of the George R. Brown Convention Center.
The distance between each “spike” and this point is relative to the distance between Houston and the capital of the country 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 and the columns lean at a ten degree angle toward a central point that represents Houston.[52]
George Bush Intercontinental ranks as the 11th-largest gateway in the United States in terms of international air cargo moved. The facility moved 389,075 metric tons of cargo in 2010 .[53]
In January 2003, the Houston Airport System decided to create a new 125 million dollar, 550,000 square feet (51,095 square meters), called the George Bush Intercontinental CargoCenter.[54]
The facility can handle up to 20 widebody aircraft at one time and has expanded to an operational area of 880,000 sq ft (81,752 m2) over the last five years. The CargoCenter has its own separate Federal Inspection Facitilty (FIS) that houses Customs, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), United States Department of Agriculture, and Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.[55]
The facility also includes the International Air CargoCenter II, a 60,000 sq ft (18,288 m2) perishable cargo handling facility. It is located in the IAH CargoCenter and offer direct ramp access for cargo airlines as well as importers and distributors of perishable goods.[56] The center is recoginized as an official Certified Cargo Screening Facility (CCSF).[57]
For five years in a row, Air Cargo Inc has honored Bush Intercontinental Airport with the ACE Award for Excellence in the category of airports with less than 500,000 tons of air cargo annually.[58]
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The city of Houston presented its master plan update for IAH in 2005.[61] The near-term plan calls for Terminal B's circular flight stations to be rebuilt into linear facilities similar to Terminal A. Construction of a new 155,000-square-foot (14,400 m2) pier at Terminal D, capable of handling six additional wide body aircraft, is slated for completion in 2013.[62]
The long-term plans call for the existing unit terminals to be demolished and the North and South Concourses to be linked midway. Soon after, all of the facilities in the North and South Concourses will be linked together to form two long continuous facilities. In addition, a new Central Passenger Processing facility will also be built, called the East Terminal along with an underground people mover.
Airfield improvements include a new Runway 8C-26C, a new Runway 9R-27L, a perimeter taxiway, and access roadways.[63][64] If the FAA selects new sites for runways, the FAA may buy land from the Glen Lee Place and Heather Ridge Village subdivisions, which are located off of Lee Road.[65]
The following involved flights departing or arriving at the airport:
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