George Bush Intercontinental Airport — Attraction in Houston

Fly out of another airport if you can. I travel extensively—both internationally and domestically—and Houston Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) is, without question, the worst airport I encounter. It consistently underperforms on nearly every measurable aspect that contributes to a decent, efficient, or productive travel experience. This is particularly egregious given how much time and money it costs passengers and the companies that send employees through here on business. IAH has been under construction for years—well beyond any justifiable delay. The pandemic is no longer a valid excuse. The airport continues to operate in a disjointed, half-finished state that punishes travelers for using it at all. The airport has become such an imposing bureaucracy that unless you do significant pre-trip homework, you risk being delayed or misdirected; even then, preparation may not matter. For example, their website may show parking availability, but it will not notify you that C/D/E garages now require a reservation made at least one day in advance. So, if you fight traffic to arrive at those garages, you may be turned away and redirected to A/B. If flying out of C, D, or E, this means you must either take the slow, delay-prone underground train—reminiscent of Total Recall—or go through security at Terminal A and transfer via the post-security train. Either route can add considerable time, especially if you are already running late. The employees enforcing these policies—easily identifiable in yellow vests—must turn away confused passengers who did not realize that parking now requires advance documentation. If you do have a reservation, another employee must physically remove a cone to let you in—one vehicle at a time. This process clogs entryways and increases pressure on both employees and passengers. I can only hope those workers are compensated well, as they are forced to deliver bad news on behalf of an unaccountable system. If you are considering working here, know what you are signing up for. If you already do, it appears you could do better. If redirected to park at A/B, you may try to use the shuttle; unfortunately, signage is confusing and poorly marked. The path to the bus is circuitous, and clear instructions are lacking. The experience does not improve on return. Global Entry at IAH is virtually meaningless. In more than five other major airports I have entered with Global Entry in the past 18 months, I cleared customs in under a minute—often without stopping. In Houston, you are placed in a line as long as every other passenger. The CBP officers themselves are mostly curious, though completely tone-deaf to the unnecessary impositions on most law-abiding passengers. IAH’s insistence on applying elevated scrutiny as though it operates under its own rules. It is as if Houston believes it is “special” among U.S. metro areas—and passengers pay the price for that inflated self-image. IAH operates as if every passenger must be a logistics expert. If you are not, your experience will likely be miserable. If you are, there is still a good chance your time will be wasted and your travel disrupted. Hobby Airport (HOU), by comparison, is smaller, more manageable, and staffed with people who seem empowered to help rather than obstruct. The contrast is telling—Houston’s issue is not the city itself; it is IAH. For families spending hard-earned money on leisure, or businesses investing in employee travel, IAH delivers poor value and even poorer efficiency. It actively subtracts from the travel experience. If you have had similarly bad experiences, I encourage you to contact the Mayor’s office or state officials. Ask what oversight is being applied to this endless construction project. Ask who is measuring performance and ensuring accountability. Ask why passengers and airport employees alike are paying the price for a leadership team that appears out of touch with the people they are...

The customer service at Delta Airlines was 4+Stars, quick, friendly, cordial. The things I hate about this Houston Airport are the constant construction going in on the roads around the airport that are misleading signage and confusing Everytime! The roads are terrible, the driving lanes are poorly visible with little reflective paint and no reflectors if you get there in the dark and or it's raining at the airport. The parking garages are confusing after you park, and have to find your car because the parking floors look all too familiar and you have to learn a system of memory that works for you to get to where you're going. The main saving grace is first find out what terminal your flight departs or if you're picking up, where's the proper terminal for the selected airlines you're using and looking for so when you drive in to the airport, you properly drive and park into your associated terminal parking garage? Otherwise if you miss your perspective parking garage, you will have to circle around the main airport road that takes you about 15+minutes to return back to your previous location so you can circle back and then drive hopefully into the corresponding parking garage for the terminal associated with your departing airlines you're using? Or picking up someone from? If you're short on time, in a rush!? Do yourself a HUGE FAVOR! Just park in the nearest terminal parking garage you see. Then take a picture of where your car is in the garage with some associated markings that you can use later to find your car on the the proper floor level and location? Then immediately walk yourself to the closets parking garage elevator and get to the lowest floor 1A to get you floor level of the terminal A, B, C, D, or E? then use the escalator to go the the lowest floor where the terminal airport passenger tram is located. Catch the terminal airport passenger tram to your corresponding airport terminal you desire. Once you arrive, exit and head upstairs to floor A1 to your airlines ticketing booth to check in. Then proceed to your security section to get screened and to go to your corresponding airlines departure gate waiting area and where you will find all the duty free shopping and restaurants. Upon return, follow everything the exact way you arrived except go to the first floor to locate your checked bags at the baggage claim for your flight, then proceed to the lower level LL to catch the airport terminal passenger tram to take you to your parking garage you parked at before you flee or dropped off your family/friends/passengers at the airport? Keep your parking ticket to pay your way out as you leave your parking garage exit safely. There's multiple credit/debit card booths with no attendees? Or this is single attended booth where you can seek payment assistance, or if you're a military disabled veteran, you're parking at the airport is free if you allow the attendant to check you out, showing your DV disabled veteran license plates, your ID which you will get a receipt back and you pay $0/free! Best of luck navigating this airport, in my opinion it's not the best designed airport and it can be very disorienting and confusing to anyone and definitely first time visitors! God bless your trip here and...

When I lived in the Houston area, I'd sometimes just drive to Austin or College Station (which serves DFW) to catch a flight, simply to avoid IAH.

These days, JFK, LaGuardia, LAX, SFO, Salt Lake, Austin, DFW, and even Newark have all been rebuilt anew or significantly rehabilitated. San Antonio's getting an overhaul, too. All are doing better than IAH. That should be a sign that Houston needs to do much better with Bush! Why do I say that?

Think of the airport is being a 1980s school cafeteria meeting the worst-run McDonald's you've ever been to, never updated and hardly cleaned. Some terminals are slightly better than others.

Speaking of hardly cleaned, the restrooms. Ugh. Disgusting.

The security lines are in illogical orders, and often hard to find if you're using Pre-Check or CLEAR. Even in other giant airports, I don't experience this problem.

The signage leading to the airport, then within the terminals, is often confusing.

Personnel across the board - CLEAR, TSA, stores, restaurants, lounges, gates - are almost universally surly, and often outright rude. Yelling and "that ain't my job!" are competitive, spectator sports at IAH!

If you check a suitcase and Houston is your destination, good luck. Upon arrival, my suitcase has either been mishandled by staff and lost, or I've had to wait 30+ minutes at the carousel to retrieve it.

Food and drink options are not limited, but I've paid more for a simple soda than I have even in NYC or LA airports.

The post-security tram between terminals isn't bad, but the pre-security tram is dirty, dark, dingy, and full of homeless people after dark. It's a legitimate public safety hazard - including for the homeless people who stay there.

Construction is never-ending, and to what end? I'll believe the results when I see them (I have no doubt that I'll revisit the area at some point).

Economy parking is actually reasonably priced, but the method of channeling passengers is painfully stupid. You're directed to a parking space by an attendant, then you have to get out of your car and just wait in/near place wait for a bus that you may catch immediately, or you may have to wait for 10 minutes to catch the next one. There are no designated shuttle stops like at Austin or LAX.

The airport is in a terrible neighborhood. Not as terrible as the neighborhood that Hobby is located in, but Greenspoint is still no joke, especially after dark.

A good man such as George H.W. Bush doesn't deserve to have this airport named...