Houston airports brace for record July 4 travel surge with 1.9 million travelers expected for holiday

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Many people are flying these days, and the TSA plans to screen 32 million of them between June 27 and July 8.

Houston Airport System officials expect 1.9 million passengers to pass through Houston during that period.

They say that represents an 8% increase over the same period in 2023, and that number includes passengers traveling through George Bush Intercontinental (IAH) and William H. Hobby (HOU) airports.

Things are going well at Hobby, according to Kelly Woodward, chief operating officer of the Houston airport system.

“Hobby is continuing as usual,” Woodward said, adding that passengers should arrive two hours before their flight.

IAH passengers had mixed feelings about how things went on Sunday.

Pritam Dhavale was unimpressed as he prepared to return to Florida.

“The experience wasn’t very good,” he said.

Eboni Jones said she had no problems as she prepared to return to Virginia.

“It’s pretty good for us,” Jones said.

Passengers have complained about not being able to bypass IAH in recent years due to several construction projects, but Woodward said they suspended them for the holidays.

Woodward also told ABC13 that they have added staff to help direct traffic around the different terminals.

A date to remember if you are traveling via IAH is July 3.

It is not only the eve of Independence Day, but also the eve of the match between Lionel Messi and Argentina in the Copa America football tournament at the NRG Stadium.

“What we’re seeing is not just an increase in domestic passengers, but also a slight increase in international passengers,” Woodward said.

The Houston airport system said it expects 160,000 passengers to pass through IAH on July 3.

They also said one of their main hopes during this busy time is that cars don’t circle around the airport.

Woodward asked people traveling to IAH to wait to order a Lyft or Uber until they are physically at their pickup point, instead of ordering one while waiting during the baggage claim.

Houstonians picking up flyers at IAH are encouraged to wait for them in a cell phone parking lot until their passengers are outside their terminal.

Another tip from airport officials is to purchase parking in advance to guarantee a spot closest to either airport.

This can be done at Fly2Houston.com/Parking.

For the latest news, follow Chaz Miller on Facebook, X and Instagram.