Anticipated spike during Labor Day weekend to help Houston Airports set a new record for summer air travel. With more people flying during the holiday weekend, Houston Airports continues to encourage travelers to reserve parking and arrive early.
Houston Airports is set to welcome more summer passengers in 2023 than it did in the summer of 2019. From Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day weekend in 2023, Houston Airports expects to welcome more than 15 million passengers, a record for the City of Houston's airport system. The record-making summer is proof that air travel continues to rebound from the global pandemic.
Houston Airports is ready to greet more than 830,000 passengers, collectively, at George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) and William P. Hobby Airport (HOU) during the five-day period that begins Thursday, Aug. 31 and ends Monday, Sept. 4. The single busiest day of holiday travel will be Friday, Sept. 1.
That’s a projected increase of 3% more when comparing the same timeframe to 2022 and 5% more when compared to 2019.
Hobby Airport is ready to welcome nearly 200,000 people during the holiday travel period.
Bush Airport is anticipating more than 636,000 people to move through its five terminals.
Nearly 80% of passengers will board a domestic flight, while more than 20% are bound for international destinations.
The record-making Labor Day weekend is on par with the uptick in travel tracked by Houston Airports this summer. Based on TSA Throughput data, which counts the number of passengers cleared through TSA screening at Bush and Hobby Airports, from Memorial Day weekend to August 9, Houston Airports has welcomed 14% more passengers when compared to the same timeframe in 2022 and 5% more when compared to 2019.
VIEW | BUSH AIRPORT TRAFFIC AND PARKING ALERTS
Because of continued record summer travel crowds, Houston Airports continues to recommend passengers arrive early to the airport and reserve parking online, especially as construction of a new international terminal continues at Bush Airport.
Plan ahead and reserve parking online: It’s the easiest way to guarantee a parking spot at the Terminal garages or ecopark locations. You can pre-book, adjust and make valet reservations here. Anticipate high parking volumes at the Terminal garages. Please allow yourself extra time to find a parking space, and if necessary, navigate to another parking location if your first parking choice is full.
Picking up passengers curbside? Wait at a cell phone lot until your passenger is ready at the Arrivals curb with their bags. All five terminals are connected through our Subway and Skyway trams. Passengers are encouraged to move to Terminals A, B or C for faster pickup.
CONSTRUCTION | Construction at IAH will allow for the development of a new world-class international terminal. As the projects move forward on time and within budget, construction may impact traffic, mainly during morning and afternoon peak travel times. Friday is forecasted to be the single busiest travel day this extended holiday weekend. As we work to minimize the impact on the traveling public, we ask passengers and their families to follow these important recommendations to ease traffic delays, reduce roadway congestion and enhance the passenger airport experience.