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George Bush Intercontinental Airport

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File:Bush Intercontinental Airport.jpg
The new International Arrivals Building, opened in January 2005

George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IATA: IAH, ICAO: KIAH) (for International Airport - Houston) is 23 miles north of downtown Houston, Texas. It is located between Interstate 45 and Highway 59, inside the Houston city limits in the Aldine area, and is adjacent to Humble.

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

It 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[1] for 2005. Recently IAH was named the fourth-fastest growing airport in the world. [2]

The airport currently ranks second in the United States among U.S. airports with scheduled non-stop domestic and international service with 221 destinations, trailing only Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson with 250 destinations.

Bush Intercontinental also has the highest on-time performance of any major United States airport, according to the latest United States Department of Transportation report. [3]

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

Houston is also the headquarters of Continental Airlines, and Bush Intercontinental is Continental's largest hub, with 771 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 arrving 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.

Artwork

George Bush Intercontinental Airport features artwork by several nationally recognized artists. The artwork was commissioned in 1998.

Ed Carpenter's "Light Wings" [4], a multicolored glass sculpture suspended below a sky light, adornes 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” [5], 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 [6]. 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.

Airlines and destinations

Bush Intercontinental Airport has five terminals and encompasses 10,000 acres (40 km²). A train called TerminaLink connects Terminals B, C, and the International Arrivals Building (adjacent to Terminals D and E) for those with connecting flights in different terminals from their arrival and is located in the secure zone of the airport, allowing passengers to not have to reenter security. There are also walkways connecting the terminals behind the security checkpoints. An underground train outside of the secure zone connects all five terminals and the airport hotel and can be accessed by all.

Terminal Map

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Terminal A

Terminal A was one of the original two terminals to open in 1969. Like Terminal B, it orginally 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. It serves as the Terminal for all non-resident carriers. 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 has 31 gates.

  • Continental Airlines
    • Continental Express operated by ExpressJet Airlines (Albuquerque, Alexandra, Amarillo, Atlanta, Austin, Bakersfield, Baton Rouge, Beaumont, Birmingham (AL), Boise, Brownsville, Charleston (SC), Charleston (WV), Charlotte, Chatanooga, 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, 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, Nassau, New Orleans, Norfolk, Oklahoma City, Omaha, Orlando, Palm Springs, Pensacola, Pittsburgh, Raleigh/Durham, Richmond, Salt Lake City, San Antonio (ends September 30, 2006), Sarasota/Bradenton, Savannah, Shreveport, St. Louis, Tallahassee, Toronto, 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, Calgary, Chicago-O'Hare, Cleveland, Columbus, Dallas/Fort Worth, Denver, Detroit, El Paso, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Gulfport, Gunnison, Hartford, Hayden, Honolulu, Indianapolis, Kahului, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, McAllen, Miami, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Montrose, New Orleans, New York-LaGuardia, Newark, Oakland, Oklahoma City, Omaha, Ontario, Orange County, Orlando, Pensacola, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Portland, Raleigh/Durham, Reno/Tahoe, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose (CA), San Juan, Seattle/Tacoma, Tampa, Toronto, Tucson, Tulsa, Eagle County, Vancouver, Washington-Dulles, Washington-Reagan, West Palm Beach)

International 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 Facitilty (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 the operational of all international flights except those of Continental Airlines, which are located in Terminal E. Terminal D has 12 gates.

Charter Airlines

International Terminal E

File:GeorgeBushAirportTerminalD.JPG
International Terminal E's interior

Terminal E is IAH's newest terminal, and houses all of Continental's international 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 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, Buenos Aires-Ezeiza, Cali, Cancún, Caracas, Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Guadalajara, Guam, Guatemala City, Guayaquil, Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo, Kralendijk, León, Liberia (CR), Lima, London-Gatwick, 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 and Guatemala) (Acapulco, Aguascalientes, Chihuahua, Ciudad Del Carmen, Durango, Flores/Tikal, Guadalajara, Huatulco, Ixtapa-Zihuatenejo, León, Manzanillo, Mazatlán, Mexico City, Monclova, Monterrey, Morelia, Oaxaca, Puebla, Puerto Vallarta, Saltillo, San José del Cabo, San Luis Potosí, Tampico, Toluca, Torreón, Veracruz, Villahermosa)

Former airlines

In the past, this airport was also served by:

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.

The final design can be viewed here: [8]

FAA Diagram

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Cargo

IAH ranks as the eleventh 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, Immigration and Nauturalization Service (INS), Department of Agrictulture 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 Airlines

IAH Cargo Center Third Party Developers

  • Aeroterm
  • AMB Property Corporation
  • Lynxs Group

IAH Cargo Center Ground Handling

  • Air General
  • Cargo Airport Services USA
  • Genesis Aircraft Support
  • Integrated Airline Services
  • Menzies Aviation Group
  • Servisair Cargo
  • World Wide

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