The Houston Airport System as of 2019 has contributed over $36 billion to the Houston economy and provided over 190,000 jobs, Diaz said.
The updates
George Bush Intercontinental Airport is in the midst of its largest capital improvement project, with the expansion of terminals B, C and D, Diaz said.
- In January, United Airlines announced a $2.6 billion replacement project for Terminal B and is expected to feature a new central processor, additional gates and various dining options.
- In early 2024, two additional levels of Terminal C parking will open, providing over 700 additional parking spaces.
- The airport spent $1.43 billion for the construction of Terminal D-West Pier, which is expected to wrap up by the end of 2023 and will include an art installation called the Feature Wall, retail and dining facilities, and multiple gates.
- As part of the expansion, seven additional gates will be added.
- The West Concourse expansion project is scheduled to begin in early 2024 and will take two years.
- The project will involve the expansion and renovation of the baggage handling system and baggage claim area.
Hobby Airport is the only Skytrax five-star regional airport, one of seven in the world. The airport has:
- Five passenger airlines
- 86 nonstop flights
- Served nearly 13.1 million passengers in 2022
- 26 passenger airlines
- 187 nonstop flights
- Served nearly 40.9 million passengers in 2022
With the soon-to-be world's first commercial spaceport, located at Ellington Airport, Diaz spoke about the possibilities of space tourism with the integration of aviation and aerospace.
The spaceport has three tenants who directly support NASA:
- Axiom Space
- Collins Aerospace
- Intuitive Machines
