Houston Airport System: Passenger Totals Continue to Grow in First Half of 2011

Passenger totals from the first six months of 2011 are continuing a positive growth trend recently recorded at airports within the Houston Airport System, especially in the areas of international travel and the amount of air cargo processed at George Bush Intercontinental Airport.

From January through June of this year, international passenger totals have increased by more than 4 percent, while the air cargo totals are almost 7 percent higher than the totals recorded during the same time period in 2010, airport system officials said in a report.

“The Houston Airport System continues to improve its position as the premiere gateway into key markets in Mexico and the rest of Latin America,” says Mario C. Diaz, director of aviation. “Global connectivity remains a top priority and the recent increase in international passenger totals reflects that commitment.”

The Houston Airport System reports increases in international passenger totals for 22 consecutive months. The increases in traffic are especially strong for travel between Houston and Mexico and destinations in Central and South America. Six-month totals for those two regions have increased by 35.2 percent and 29.8 percent respectively.

Air cargo totals are also increasing at Bush Intercontinental Airport, where an additional 15,000 tons of air freight was processed from January through June. This total represents a seven percent increase in the totals recorded during that same time period the previous year.

Passenger totals continue to climb at William P. Hobby Airport as well, where an increase of 8.6 percent is being recorded for the first six months of the year. Compared to the same time period in 2010, Hobby Airport has seen an additional 375,761 passengers, putting it on pace to end the year by topping the 9 million passenger threshold for the second consecutive year and only the third time in its history.

“We are definitely entering a new era at William P. Hobby Airport,” said airport general manager Perry J. Miller. “Because the facility itself is changing and the passenger totals are growing, there’s a genuine excitement about what the future is going to hold for both the airport itself and its passengers.”

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