Getting to and from Houston Airport (IAH)

George Bush Intercontinental is one of the largest airports in North America, and is served by a number of important local and international airline companies. The airport is the largest and main hub for the airline carrier United Airlines. The airport, with the IATA code of IAH, is regarded as third in the U.S. for non-stop domestic and international services (with 182 destinations) and as the sixth busiest in the world for aircraft movements. It is the tenth busiest airport in terms of passengers in North America. The airport directions are quite simple to follow, as the airport is surrounded by several main roads. Airport directions can also be found online.

George Bush Intercontinental is located approximately 23 miles, or 37km north of downtown Houston, and in the state of Texas. The airport serves the Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown Metropolitan area, which is the fifth largest metropolitan in the United States. Particularly nearby the airport are the areas of Spring, Kingwood and Atascocita, and the airport is also just north of the North Belt Intercontinental Business Park and to the west of Lake Houston. The smaller areas of Cypress Gardens, Amberwood, Kenswick Forest, Cranbrook Center and North Houston Industries are also close by to the airport grounds. On a larger scale, Houston is to the south of the cities of Fort Worth and Dallas, to the west of Beaumont and the state of Louisiana and to the east of San Antonio. Texas also lies alongside the states of Oklahoma, Arkansas and New Mexico, and alongside the border between the United States and Mexico. To the south and east of Houston lie coastal areas that include Port Arthur, Galveston, Freeport, Port Lavaca and Corpus Christi.

There are two main access roads for the George Bush Airport. One from Will Clayton Parkway and the other from John F. Kennedy Boulevard. The airport roads can be accessed from several main highways and Interstates, including the Sam Houston Tollway (Beltway 8), the I-45 (North Freeway) and the U.S. Highway 59.

Directions from Downtown Houston

The drive from downtown/central Houston to the airport will take approximately forty minutes, depending on traffic conditions. The two roads that will take motorists to the west side of the airport are the Interstate-45 and the Hardy Toll Road (548), and these two roads are also linked to the N. Loop E Freeway (I-610) that surrounds central Houston. Nearer the airport motorists will connect to the Sam Houston Tollway (Beltway 8), and follow the signs that indicate the airport’s direction. To the east side of the airport grounds, motorists can travel the U.S. Highway 59, or the Eastex Freeway, and take the turn-off onto Will Clayton Parkway, which is one of the airport’s access roads. Additional roads that are nearby the airport include Greens Road, the Hardy Toll Road, Aldine Westfield Road, Kenswick Drive and the FM1960.

Directions from further areas

From the far north, such as the large cities of Dallas and Fort Worth, the I-45 leads towards Houston and the George Bush Intercontinental Airport. Along the way, motorists will pass Ennis, Corsicana, Fairfield and Madisonville, as well as Conroe, the Woodlands and Spring before nearing the airport and Houston. The city of Houston can be reached from Austin via the I-35 and I-10, and from Lake Charles to the east via the Interstate-10 as well. Lafayette just beyond Lake Charles is also located on the I-10, as well as Baton Rouge. The I-45 north can be taken from Galveston, Texas City and League City. From the north as well, and from the town of Lufkin, motorists can follow the U.S. Highway 59 south, and will pass Diboll, Moscow, West Livingston and Cleveland along the way. The road also travels past Kingwood just before nearing the airport.

Once departing passengers have reached George Bush Airport, there are over 25,000 parking spaces from which to choose. They are located in various areas, including those at the terminal buildings and the Economy car parks. Passengers should be aware that there are five terminal buildings for flight operations, and will therefore need to park as nearby to their terminal of departure as possible. The terminals are referred to as A, B, C, D and E, and in general, Terminals D and E handle international flights while the others handle domestic flights. If necessary, passengers can transfer from one terminal to another, by the inter-terminal trains on the non-secure side and by the TerminaLink trains once past the security check-points. These are the only train services available at the airport, as there are no trains available to the airport from downtown Houston. However, many airport buses are available for ground transportation, should a passenger prefer not to drive a private vehicle. There is a public bus that serves Terminal C, and SuperShuttle is one of the popular shared-ride services available. Courtesy hotel shuttles are an option from many of the nearby hotels and inns as well, or passengers can simply take a taxi from any area of the city.

Passengers will find George Bush Intercontinental to be extremely well equipped, and to have all the facilities they require. In Terminals A, B, C, D and E services include Chase Bank ATMs, pay phones, phone card machines, mailboxes, restrooms, Wi-Fi internet services and Samsung charging stations. Within some terminals, there are also nurseries, for moms and their babies, currency exchange services and a variety of airport lounges, for example, The Executive Lounge and KLM Crown Lounge in Terminal D, and the Continental Presidents Club in Terminals A, B, C and E. The airport is also equipped with a large selection of shops and restaurants in each terminal. The shops sell everything from newspapers and magazines to gifts, sunglasses and clothing, and some of the favourite places to eat include Starbucks, Pizzeria Uno, King Fisher, McDonald’s, the Launch Pad Cafe, the Centre Bar, Lefty’s To-Go Grill and Ruby’s Diner. George Bush Intercontinental Airport has its own hotel as well, located between Terminals B and C. It has 566 rooms, two restaurants, a cocktail lounge, a coffee shop and a conference centre. The Marriott Hotel can be accessed by the inter-terminal train from all terminals.

The airport directions in further detail are available online, at https://maps.google.com. The airport can also be contacted at 281-230-33100.