Houston air travel in August reached 5.4 million passengers through Bush Intercontinental Airport and Hobby Airport, up 5.9% year over year. Bush Intercontinental (IAH) saw a 6.5% lift in overall traffic, reaching 4.2 million passengers, while Hobby Airport saw 1.15 million passengers, a 3.7% increase.
Year to date, over 42 million passengers flew through both airports, a 5.8% increase compared to the same period last year. Domestic travel has logged over 33 million passengers, a 6.1% gain, while international travel grew 4.8% to almost 9 million passengers.
Air Traffic – In the Numbers
The Houston Airport System saw 4.3 million domestic passengers in August, up 7.8%. IAH supported approximately 3.2 million of these passengers, up 8.6% YOY, while Hobby Airport saw 1.1 million passengers, up 5.6%.
Domestic travelers relied primarily on United Airlines, making up 54% of the domestic travel market share, or 2.3 million passengers. Southwest Airlines saw a slight decline in domestic passenger traffic, compared to last August with 1.01 million passengers, a 2.9% decrease. An increase in flight frequency for Spirit Airlines created a 63.4% increase in passenger traffic in August for a total of almost 330,000 passengers.
International travel showed a slight dip in passenger traffic, decreasing less than 1 percentage point to 1.13 million passengers. Hobby Airport saw the most significant decline, with a 19.1% decrease in passengers to approximately 67,100. IAH showed a 0.7% gain, supporting approximately 1.07 million passengers. International travelers continued to use United Airlines, showing a 2-point gain in traffic. Whereas Southwest Airlines saw major declines in international passengers in August, losing 19.2% year-over-year. This decline is likely due to Southwest Airline’s decision to cease operations at Bush Airport as of August 4, 2024. Economical travel continues to trend up, as VivaAerobús showed a 16.7% gain in air travel.
See full stats here.
Written by Megan Henson
Pictured: Bush Intercontinental Airport
