Houston airports break records all year, 1.9 million people will fly this holiday week

HOUSTON – Houston airports are on track for a year that will go down in the record books.

Next week, our airports are expecting nearly 2 million passengers at William P. Hobby and George Bush Intercontinental Airports between June 29 and July 8.

According to statistics, this represents an increase of 8% compared to 2023.

“This number will surpass Memorial Day, which set an all-time record for United Airlines here in Houston,” said Peggy Slay, United Airlines customer service manager. “We plan to treat around 50,000 people per day. »

This increase in travel follows an already record travel season during spring break and Memorial Day, according to Houston Airport Systems.

In May, 2,816,854 people boarded nonstop or connecting flights at Bush or Hobby airport, breaking the previous record set in July 2018 with 2,794,798 passengers.

To cope with the influx of passengers this summer, particularly during the summer holidays, airports and airlines are inviting customers to arrive three hours before a domestic flight.

“Plan to be here three hours before your flight time because you never know what the line is going to be at TSA,” Slay said.

At Bush Airport, it’s all hands on deck for United Airlines.

The airline brought KPRC2’s Gage Goulding and photojournalist Oscar Chavez for a behind-the-scenes look at how they manage the massive number of passengers and fly 490 planes a day from Bush.

Inside Bush Airport, United Airlines’ operations center constantly monitors the weather, monitors flights and makes adjustments to ensure the smoothest possible operation while maximizing the efficiency of their aircraft.

Meanwhile, on the runway, crews battle the stifling summer heat to load and unload baggage from planes, bring in fresh water, empty toilets and keep planes full of fuel.

All of this is done while the crews inside prepare each plane for the next group of passengers.

Speaking of passengers, United Airlines is making room for more people to travel on its planes, without adding flights or routes to its already incredibly busy schedule.

This is called an “upgrade”. Simply put, United is choosing to fly larger planes with more seats this summer to accommodate the influx of customers.

“We are increasing passenger numbers by putting larger planes on routes that require additional seats to carry passengers, so we can accommodate as many people as possible,” Mr. Slay said. “The same number of planes, but more seats, allows a lot more people to get out of here. »

United Airlines explains why plane size helps improve passenger records:

• United Airlines is Houston’s largest airline, currently operating 490 daily flights from Bush Airport, including 56 international destinations (including Latin America, Canada, Europe and Asia), in average approximately 55,000 customers served per day.

• As part of the United Next growth plan, a company-wide investment in fleet, network, airports and customer experience, over the next decade United intends to introduce more than 800 narrow-body and wide-body aircraft in its fleet and expanding its global network to reach new points on the map. With this growth plan underway, United is using larger aircraft for domestic and international routes. United is phasing out its 50-seat planes and using 75-seat planes. This transition makes it possible to use more mainline aircraft and, ultimately, to offer 12% more seats per departure compared to last year.

• United Airlines expects this Independence Day weekend to be its busiest on record, with more than 5 million passengers expected to fly on United — airline-wide — between June 28 and July 8, an increase of more than 7 percent over last year.

Houston isn’t the only city experiencing record passenger numbers.

According to TSA data, the five busiest days of all time occurred in 2024.

Nine of the 10 busiest days on record are now post-pandemic travel days, a sure sign that travelers are ready to take to the skies again.

“They’re ready and it’s time,” said Ashley Kelsey, who is returning home to North Carolina. ” Everything is fine. Let’s start traveling. »

In order to reach their destination, United Airlines and the Houston Airports System encourage all travelers to arrive at least three hours before their flight.

“We don’t want you to miss the cruises. We don’t want you to miss the dinners, or any of that,” Slay said.