The airport is Texas' second largest air facility, after the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.
It is located between Interstate 45 and Highway 59, inside the Houston city limits and adjacent to the cities of Aldine, and Humble.
Bush Intercontinental has flights to other parts of the United States, as well as to Canada, Latin America, Europe, and Japan.
George Bush Intercontinental, named after George H. W. Bush, the 41st President of the United States and father of the current President George W. Bush, is the hub of Continental Airlines, and, because of its closeness to their hubs in Dallas, both American Airlines and Southwest Airlines also keep a large presence there. However, the only city that Southwest serves with nonstop flights from Bush Intercontinental is Dallas; all other Southwest service from Houston is out of William P. Hobby Airport. This airport has a long list of Texas, domestic, and international cities among the places that are served non stop from this airport.
Houston Intercontinental Airport, as it was originally known, was opened in 1969. It had taken all passenger traffic from William P. Hobby Airport, known back then as Houston International Airport. Hobby Airport reopened under its current name several years later. The Mickey Leland International Airlines building was opened in May 1990, and the new Terminal E was partially opened on June 3, 2003. The rest of terminal E will opened on January 7, 2004. As of late, a new Federal Inspection Service (FIS) building will be completed in January 2005.
Houston Intercontinental Airport was renamed George Bush Intercontinental Airport/Houston in 1997 and retains its IATA Airport Code, IAH. Houston is seen by many as a nice hub due to location, especially for flights into Latin America. Many also feel that the airport is well organized.
The underground inter-terminal train links all of the terminals together. Unfortunately, the passenger must go out of the sanitized zone to board the train. However, Terminals B and C have the Terminalink, a train in the sanitized zone. There are also walkways between C, D, and E.
METRO's METRORail is slated to come to George Bush Intercontinental from downtown.
Bush Intercontinental airport is 10,000 acres large. It is the 9th busiest in the United States for total passengers, and 19th busiest worldwide.
George Bush Intercontinental Airport has five terminals.
Terminal A
Terminal B
Terminal C
International Terminal D
(Mickey Leland International Airlines Building)
International Terminal E
Cargo airlines
The Past
In the past, this airport was also served by Royal Jordanian and South African Airways.