George Bush Intercontinental Airport
This weekend, Tyler has given us as IFATC to represent out home towns and countries. You’ve already seen quite a few topics like this about airports across the world. Now, let me tell you a little bit about my home airport!
Fast Facts
Houston is one of the most culturally diverse cities in the world. This is because the main intercontinental airport serves every continent in the world except Antarctica. Within these continents, IAH has direct service to over 60 international cities. Most of these routes are to South and Central America, but there are many other destinations across the globe.
Houston is also one of the largest cities in the world, ranking at number 4 in the United States.
United Airlines services 91 daily nonstop flights internationally to 59 destinations across the globe (16 more than Chicago–O’Hare). These include:
- Four Destinations in Europe
- Two Destinations in Asia
- Forty Eight Destinations in Mexico, Latin America, and The Caribbean
- Five Destinations in Canada
United Airlines also services 415 daily domestic flights to 116 airports across the US.
Aircraft
Being a large international hub, IAH services a large array of different aircraft types that you all know and love. Here’s a nice list of the many different aircraft that serve Houtston:
Boeing
737
747
747 (Freighter)
757
767
777
777 (Freighter)
787
Airbus
A319
A320
A350
A380
Regional Jets
CRJ-200
CRJ-700
ERJ-170
ERJ-175
ERJ-145
Routes
Heres a list of routes to and from Houston. These will be split into three different categories:
United Airlines - North America/Central America
List of routes can be found here
These are all United and United Express routes serving destinations in Canada, The United States, Mexico, and Central America
United Airlines - Intercontinental
List of routes can be found here
These are all United routes serving destinations in Asia, Australia, South America, and Europe.
Other Airlines & Cargo Routes
List of routes can be found [here](A map from the Great Circle Mapper - Great Circle Mapper
These are all routes served by non-United Airlines, including (but not limited to) Emirates, British Airways, Ethiopian Airways, Qatar Airways, Air New Zealand, Lufthansa, American Airlines, and Delta Airlines.
Disclaimer: Some routes may not be listed due to COVID-19 related cancellations.
Airport Operations
To maximize realism, here is how you should fly in and out of Houston when you decide to fly there tomorrow (or anytime).
Runways
KIAH has a unique runway layout. Typically, controllers will utilize runways 15L/33R and 15R/33L for departures ONLY. The rare exception to this rule is in the case of an emergency. Other than that, no aircraft should be landing on these runways. The other three parallel runways, 26L/8R, 26R/8L, and 09/27 are mainly used for arrivals. However, depending on winds, 09 will be used as a departure runway along with the 15’s if IAH is landing from the West. 27 will be used as the main departure runway only of winds are unfavorable for the 15/33s. There is also construction somewhere in the airport, so 26L has been used as a main departure runway quite a bit recently. However, for the most part, the 8/26s are arrival only.
Terminals
KIAH features five terminals.Terminal A primarily caters to non-United domestic flights, and some flights to canada. These are typically either Delta or American aircraft, although, occasionally, United express will have a flight fro, there. Terminal B serves united Express flights. That’s about it. Terminal C mainly has united domestic services, but also has some international United flights. Terminal D is the main international terminal for almost all non-United airlines. These gates service aircraft as small as the Volaris A319 to the Emirates A380. Most lounges are included here, as well as a duty free shop. Lastly, theres Terminal E, which essentially serves the same purpose as C except with more international flights.
Departures
If you’re not a fan or straight out departures, you’ll love this airport. Most KIAH departure procedures require an immediate left or right turn (depending on which runway you depart from). This is especially fun in real life as it gives a magnificent view of the airport.
Opening times?
If all goes as planned, I’ll hopefully open the field at around 2020-04-05T13:00:00Z. Want to fly in? Feel free to choose from any of the destinations I’ve listed!
I sincerely hope that this inspires you to fly to my Home town of Houston. KIAH truly is a wonder of an airport, and I highly recommend flying here. Thanks for reading and ill see you in the skies!