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George Bush Intercontinental Airport

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George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IATA: IAH, ICAO: KIAH) is located 23 miles (37 km) north of downtown Houston—between Interstate 45 and U.S. Highway 59—and is adjacent to the city of Humble.

Bush Intercontinental is Texas's second-largest air facility—after Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. The airport has flights to destinations in the United States; as well as to Canada, Central and South America, Europe, Africa, and Asia.

Houston is the headquarters of Continental Airlines, and Bush Intercontinental is Continental's largest hub, with an average of over 700 daily departures.

History

Houston Intercontinental Airport, as it was originally known, was opened in 1969. Originally, all passenger traffic from William P. Hobby Airport was moved to Intercontinental upon IAH's completion as Houston's second airport, remaining open as a general aviation airport. Hobby reopened two years later to commercial traffic, though virtually all international traffic remained at Intercontinental and Hobby was relegated to more local traffic.

Only Terminals A and B are originals with the airport, which has expanded greatly over the years. Terminal C opened in 1981, the Mickey Leland International Airlines 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 arrivals point for all international flights arriving into Houston, except for Continental Airlines which uses Terminal E. Terminal D also held customs and INS until the opening of the new Federal Inspection Service (FIS) building, which was completed on January 25, 2005.

The airport was renamed George Bush Intercontinental Airport/Houston, after George H. W. Bush, the 41st President of the United States and father of President George W. Bush, in 1997.

Operations

IAH's control tower

George Bush Intercontinental Airport is the ninth busiest for total passengers and the seventh largest international passenger gateway in the United States as well as the sixth busiest airport in the world for total aircraft movements according to the ACI World Traffic Report for 2005. 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.

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 Atlanta Hartsfield with 239 destinations. Furthermore, about 45% of the airport's passengers begin or terminate (O&D) their journey at the airport. Bush Intercontinental ranks as one of the major United States airports with the highest on-time performance, according to the latest United States Department of Transportation report.

With 30 destinations in Mexico, the airport offers service to more Mexican destinations than any other U.S. airport.

Terminals and airlines

Bush Intercontinental Airport has five terminals and encompasses 10,000 acres (40 km²).

Terminal Map

File:IAH MAP.gif

Terminal A

Terminal A was one of the original two terminals to open in 1969. Like Terminal B, it originally had four circular modules at the end of corridors radiating out of the corners of the terminal. However, in the mid-1990s, the North and South Concourses were rebuilt into linear facilities which provide a smoother operation within the terminal. Terminal A has 20 gates.

Terminal B

Terminal B was also one the original two terminals to open in 1969. It is mostly unaltered terminal from its original set up. Terminal B is used mostly by regional jets for Continental Express. For this reason, the jet bridges are considerably lower to the ground than most others. Future plans call for linear facilities, similar to those at Terminal A, to replace the circular ones. Terminal B currently houses some international flights operated by Continental Express, primarily Mexico routes. Terminal B has 31 gates.

  • Continental Airlines
    Continental’s Boeing 777 "Peter Max". Downtown Houston is visible in the background
    • Continental Express operated by Chautauqua Airlines (Brownsville (Begins April 3rd, 2007), Chicago-O'Hare, Colorado Springs, Columbus, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Louisville, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Oklahoma City, Phoenix, St. Louis, Tucson)
    • Continental Express operated by ExpressJet Airlines (Albuquerque, Alexandria, Amarillo, Asheville, Atlanta, Austin, Bakersfield, Baton Rouge, Beaumont, Birmingham (AL), Brownsville, Charleston (SC), Charleston (WV), Charlotte, Chattanooga, Chicago-O'Hare, Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky, Colorado Springs, Columbia (SC), Columbus, Corpus Christi, Dallas/Fort Worth, Dallas-Love, Dayton, Des Moines, El Paso, Fayetteville (AR), Fort Walton Beach, Grand Rapids, Greensboro, Greenville, Gulfport/Biloxi, Harlingen, Huntsville, Indianapolis, Jackson, Jacksonville, Killeen, Kansas City, Knoxville, Lafayette, Lake Charles, Laredo, Lexington, Little Rock, Louisville, Lubbock, McAllen, Memphis, Midland/Odessa, Milwaukee, Mobile, Montgomery, Nashville, New Orleans, Norfolk, Oklahoma City, Omaha, Orlando, Palm Springs, Pensacola, Pittsburgh, Raleigh/Durham, Richmond, Salt Lake City, Sarasota/Bradenton, Savannah, Shreveport, St. Louis, Tallahassee, Toronto-Pearson, Tucson, Tulsa, Victoria (TX), Washington-Dulles, West Palm Beach, Wichita)
  • Northwest Airlines (Detroit, Memphis, Minneapolis/St. Paul)

Terminal C

Terminal C was the third terminal to open at the airport following A and B in 1981. Its official name is Lewis W. Cutrer Terminal C, although few people know it by this name. It serves as Continental Airlines' main base of operation. Terminal C has 31 gates.

  • Continental Airlines (U.S. and Canada) (Albuquerque, Anchorage, Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore/Washington, Birmingham (AL), Boston, Boise, Calgary, Chicago-O'Hare, Cleveland, Columbus, Dallas/Fort Worth, Denver, Des Moines, Detroit, Eagle/Vail , El Paso, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Gulfport/Biloxi, Hartford, Hayden , Honolulu, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Las Vegas, Long Beach,Los Angeles, McAllen, Miami, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Montrose/Telluride , New Orleans, New York-JFK, New York-LaGuardia, Newark, Oakland, Oklahoma City, Omaha, Ontario (CA), Orange County, Orlando, Pensacola, 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, Toronto-Pearson, Tucson, Tulsa, Vancouver, Washington-Dulles, Washington-Reagan, West Palm Beach)

International Terminal D

File:IAH 7.jpg
A typical lineup at Terminal D

Terminal D opened in 1990 and took over the international operations of the entire airport. Originally Terminal D was the only terminal to have a Federal Inspection Facility (FIS), and US Customs. At the time, all international arrivals used the terminal. The original name of Terminal D was Mickey Leland International Arrivals Builiding. Since the opening of the new FIS building, Terminal D now houses all non-Continental international flights, though the terminal is still utilized for some Continental Express international flights. Terminal D has 12 gates.

International Terminal E

Terminal E

Terminal E is IAH's newest terminal, and houses all of Continental's international operations not operated by Continental Express, as well as some domestic operations. The terminal opened in two phases. The first phase opened with 14 gates, and the second phase added 16 gates in 2003 for a total 30.

Originally, Continental used the terminal solely for domestic flights, but relocated its international services to the new terminal after the new Federal Inspection Service (FIS) building opened.

  • Continental Airlines (Direct International) (Acapulco, Amsterdam, Aruba, Belize City, Bogotá, Bonaire, Buenos Aires-Ezeiza, Cali, Cancún, Caracas, Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Guadalajara, Guam, Guatemala City, Guayaquil, Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo, Kralendijk, León, Liberia (CR), Lima, London-Gatwick, Los Cabos, Managua, Mérida, Mexico City, Montego Bay, Monterrey, Panama City, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Port-of-Spain, Puerto Vallarta, Quito, Rio de Janeiro-Galeão, Roatán, San Jose del Cabo, San José (CR), San Pedro Sula, San Salvador, São Paulo-Guarulhos, Tegucigalpa, Tokyo-Narita)
    • Continental Express operated by ExpressJet Airlines (Mexico) (Acapulco, Aguascalientes, Chihuahua, Ciudad Del Carmen, Durango, Guadalajara, Huatulco, Ixtapa/Zihuatenejo, León, Loreto , Manzanillo, Mazatlán, Mexico City, Monclova, Monterrey, Morelia, Nassau, Oaxaca, Puebla, Puerto Vallarta, Querétaro, Saltillo, San José del Cabo, San Luis Potosí, Tampico, Toluca, Torreón, Veracruz, Villahermosa)

Charter airlines

Former airlines

In the past, this airport was also served by:

Some unusual routes have been discontinued. Air France and KLM both had route authority and operated flights to Mexico City as a tag end to their Houston European flights. These were discontinued in the late 1980s.

Terminal transportation

A train called TerminaLink connects Terminals 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 three stops: Terminal B, Terminal C, and Terminals D/E and the IAB.

An inter-terminal train outside of the sterile zone connects all five terminals and the airport hotel which can be accessed by all.

In addition to train service a bus-shuttle service is offered from Terminal A to Terminals B, C and E. This allows passengers needing to travel to/from Terminal A to access other terminals without having to leave the sterile zone.

Ground transportation

The Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, Texas, or METRO, offers bus service available at the south side of Terminal C.

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.

Regularly scheduled bus and shuttle service is provided by various carriers to locations from IAH to the Astrodome, Downtown, the Galleria, Greenway Plaza, the Medical Center, Westside hotels and Hobby Airport. These services can be found in all baggage claim areas.

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.

Artwork

File:IAH Flag Posts CIMG7658.JPG
Flag posts of various nations located outside the airport entrance

Ed Carpenter's "Light Wings", a multicolored glass sculpture suspended below a sky light, 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 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 etched glass wall depicting airport travelers.

The elevators in Terminal B are cased in futuristic stainless steel accordion shaped structures designed by Rachel Hecker. 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.

The flag post light sculptures, shown in the photo, were created for the G7 (now G8) Summit, an annual meeting of heads of government for the major industrial nations when it was hosted by President George H.W. Bush in Houston. The sculpture was relocated to the airport after the summit. It is located east of terminal E in between the roadway.

Future expansion

IAH recently presented its final master plan update, which will make IAH one of the more impressive airport facilities of the country. The near-term plan calls for Terminal B's circular flight stations to be rebuilt into linear facilities similar to Terminal A. Soon after, all of the facilities in the North and South Concourses will be linked together to form two long continuous facilities.

The long-term plans call for the existing unit terminals to be demolished and the North and South Concourses to be linked midway. A new Central Passenger Processing facility will be built, called the East Terminal. An underground people mover will also be built.

Airfield improvements include a new Runway 8C-26C, a new Runway 9R-27L, and a perimeter taxiway. Access roadways will also be improved.

Cargo

George Bush Intercontinental ranks as the 11-largest gateway in the United States in terms of international air cargo moved. The facility moved 751 million pounds of cargo in 2005.

For the second year in a row, Air Cargo World 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.

Because of the 4.2% annual growth rate in cargo over the last five years, the Houston Airport System decided to create the 125 million dollar, 550,000 sq ft (51,095 m2) George Bush Intercontinental CargoCenter, which opened in January of 2003. The new facility can handle up to 20 widebody aircraft at one time. The CargoCenter has its own separate Federal Inspection Facitilty (FIS) that houses US Customs, US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Department of Agriculture and US Health Inspection Services.

The CargoCenter's next project, in accordance to increasing demand, called International Air CargoCenter II, will be an approximately 60,000 sq ft (18,288 m2) perishable cargo handling facility. It will be located in the IAH CargoCenter and offer direct ramp access for cargo airlines as well as importers and distributors of perishable goods.

Cargo services

References

Notes

  1. >"Facts and Figures". Houston Airport System. Retrieved 2007-1-10. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  2. "2005 North American Final Traffic Report:Total Movements" (Press release). Airports Council International. 2006-01-15. Retrieved 2006-12-30. {{cite press release}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. "2005 Total Airline System Passenger Traffic Up 4.6 Percent From 2004" (Press release). Bureau of Transportation Statistics. 2006-04-27. Retrieved 2006-12-30. {{cite press release}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. "Ranking of Major Airport On-Time Arrival Performance Year-to-date through December 2005" (Press release). Bureau of Transportation Statistics. 2006-04-27. Retrieved 2006-12-30. {{cite press release}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  6. "Houston Emerges As The Premier Gateway In The U.S. For Travelers To Mexico" (Press release). Houston Airport System. 2005-04-12. Retrieved 2006-12-30. {{cite press release}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  8. "Portfolio:North Concourse Sculpture" (Press release). Ed Carpenter. 2001-06-01. Retrieved 2006-12-30. {{cite press release}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  9. "George Bush Intercontinental Airport Renovation - Green" (Press release). Houston Arts Alliance. 2001-06-01. Retrieved 2006-12-30. {{cite press release}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  10. "George Bush Intercontinental Airport Renovation - Hecker" (Press release). Houston Arts Alliance. 2001-06-01. Retrieved 2006-12-30. {{cite press release}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  11. "IAH Master Plan" (Press release). Houston Airport System. 2005-04-12. Retrieved 2006-12-30. {{cite press release}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  12. "George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH/KIAH), TX, USA". Airport Technology. Retrieved 2006-12-31. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |1= and |2= (help)
  13. "Air Cargo World Air Cargo Excellence Survey". Retrieved 2006-12-30.

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