Houston
IAH · KIAHGeorge Bush Intercontinental Airport
Passengers a year
46.6M
#15 busiest in the U.S.
195
nonstop destinations
55
airlines
587
departures a day
80.6%
arrivals on time
1.1%
flights cancelled
81.1%
load factor
Airlines
United Airlines is the largest carrier at Houston, with 75% of all passengers. 55 airlines fly from here.
Share of passengers · each carrier as a slice of the whole airport
United Airlines holds 75% of the airport — the 4th most concentrated of 30 large hubs. The nearest comparison is ATL at 80%.
| Airline | Share | Passengers | Seats YoY | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
UA | 74.6% | 34.8M | 183 | 83.7% | +3.2% |
AA | 5.1% | 2.4M | 8 | 67.9% | +9% |
DL | 4.1% | 1.9M | 7 | 78.4% | +3.8% |
F9 Frontier81% full | 3.8% | 1.8M | 19 | 74.8% | +33.7% |
NK Spirit81% full | 3.6% | 1.7M | 18 | 73.4% | -43.2% |
+Other airlines | 8.7% | 4.1M | — | — | — |
Share, passengers and destinations count each airline’s own flights plus the regional flying sold under its brand. On-time covers the airline's own aircraft only — regional affiliates report to the government separately. Seats year on year compares the latest twelve months against the twelve before them.
Destinations
124 domestic and 71 international nonstop destinations from Houston, across 39 countries.
74% domestic · 26% international · by departing passengers
Top domestic destinations
United Airlines · American Airlines · Spirit Airlines · Frontier Airlines
United Airlines · Frontier Airlines
776.1K776,098 departing · 88% full
United Airlines · Delta Air Lines · Frontier Airlines · Spirit Airlines · American Airlines
Delta Air Lines · United Airlines · Frontier Airlines · Spirit Airlines
636.6K636,599 departing · 73% full
American Airlines · United Airlines
612.1K612,098 departing · 85% full
United Airlines
United Airlines · Spirit Airlines
United Airlines · Spirit Airlines · Frontier Airlines
United Airlines · Delta Air Lines · Spirit Airlines
United Airlines · Spirit Airlines · Frontier Airlines
Top international destinations
Mexico City, Mexico (MEX)
429K428,963 departing · 829.7K829,669 both ways
United Airlines · Aeroméxico · Viva · Volaris
Cancún, Mexico (CUN)
333.1K333,088 departing · 669.5K669,542 both ways
United Airlines · Spirit Airlines · Frontier Airlines
San Salvador, El Salvador (SAL)
325.4K325,391 departing · 641.5K641,479 both ways
United Airlines · Avianca El Salvador · Volaris El Salvador
London, United Kingdom (LHR)
265.8K265,766 departing · 510.6K510,582 both ways
United Airlines · British Airways
Monterrey, Mexico (MTY)
227.5K227,454 departing · 450.3K450,292 both ways
United Airlines · Viva
Guatemala City, Guatemala (GUA)
188.6K188,566 departing · 371.9K371,893 both ways
United Airlines · Spirit Airlines
Guadalajara, Mexico (GDL)
187.9K187,851 departing · 366.5K366,457 both ways
United Airlines · Volaris · Viva
Frankfurt am Main, Germany (FRA)
187.6K187,565 departing · 372.2K372,228 both ways
Lufthansa · United Airlines
San José, Costa Rica (SJO)
161.4K161,361 departing · 327.5K327,451 both ways
United Airlines
Tocumen, Panama (PTY)
153.8K153,782 departing · 300.2K300,246 both ways
United Airlines
All nonstop destinations
195 nonstop · 27 airlines · 124 domestic / 71 intl
American Eagle · operated by Envoy Air, PSA Airlines, Republic Airways, SkyWest Airlines
United Express · operated by CommuteAir, GoJet Airlines, Mesa Airlines, Republic Airways, SkyWest Airlines
Aircraft
By share of departures at Houston.
Body class · share of departures
- Regional
43,585 departures · 81% full
20.3%
- Regional
24,274 departures · 86% full
11.3%
- Narrowbody
17,962 departures · 79% full
8.4%
- Narrowbody
17,085 departures · 83% full
8.0%
- Narrowbody
16,214 departures · 82% full
7.6%
- Narrowbody
13,761 departures · 80% full
6.4%
- Narrowbody
13,468 departures · 81% full
6.3%
- Narrowbody
12,815 departures · 79% full
6.0%
- Narrowbody
8,118 departures · 81% full
3.8%
- Narrowbody
8,021 departures · 81% full
3.7%
When Houston is busiest
Departures by month over the trailing year. Bars scale to the busiest month.
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Departures a month · peak July 2026
Annual passengers since 1990
Total passengers, arriving and departing, in every year on record.
Passengers a year
Every year
- 1990
- 16,827,867
- 1991
- 17,266,010
- 1992
- 18,401,287
- 1993
- 18,887,813
- 1994
- 20,857,440
- 1995
- 23,418,867
- 1996
- 24,775,562
- 1997
- 26,991,266
- 1998
- 29,010,146
- 1999
- 30,921,113
- 2000
- 33,266,897
- 2001
- 32,755,467
- 2002
- 32,056,923
- 2003
- 32,666,835
- 2004
- 35,108,335
- 2005
- 38,304,671
- 2006
- 41,214,455
- 2007
- 41,653,584
- 2008
- 40,192,126
- 2009
- 38,698,661
- 2010
- 39,189,935
- 2011
- 39,038,571
- 2012
- 38,399,670
- 2013
- 38,309,552
- 2014
- 39,851,585
- 2015
- 41,581,085
- 2016
- 40,361,962
- 2017
- 39,345,659
- 2018
- 42,553,334
- 2019
- 44,050,860
- 2020
- 17,466,710
- 2021
- 32,748,828
- 2022
- 39,922,757
- 2023
- 44,710,515
- 2024
- 47,000,284
- 2025
- 46,702,338
- 2026
- 27,167,893 so far
Arriving on time
Of every 100 flights landing at Houston, 81 touch down within 15 minutes of schedule, 18 arrive late, and 1 is cancelled.
Every 100 arrivals
15 min
average delay
1,367
flights cancelled
117.4K
arrivals measured
What holds flights up
Share of delay minutes
Most reliable here
United Airlines 83.7%
Least reliable here
American Airlines 67.9%
Among US airports
#15
On time, month by month
A
S
O
N
D
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
Darker is better · 74.6%–88.4%
The weak spot is June 2026, when 74.6% of arrivals landed on time — 6 points below the year. The strongest was February 2026 at 88.4%.
Frequently asked
How busy is George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH)?
George Bush Intercontinental Airport handled about 46.6M passengers over the trailing 12 months, ranking #15 among U.S. airports by passengers, with roughly 587 departures a day.
Which airline is the largest at George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH)?
United Airlines is the largest carrier at Houston (IAH), flying about 75% of its passengers. 55 airlines serve Houston in total.
How many places can you fly nonstop from George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH)?
Houston (IAH) has 195 nonstop destinations — 124 domestic and 71 international across 39 countries.
How often do flights arrive on time at George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH)?
About 80.6% of flights arriving at Houston (IAH) touch down within 15 minutes of schedule, per US DOT figures. About 1.1% are cancelled.
What aircraft flies most from George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH)?
The Embraer E175 flew the largest share of departures from Houston (IAH), about 20% of the total.
Trip reports on YouTube
Fliers post trip reports from flights through Houston (IAH) to YouTube. These three were matched automatically from public YouTube listings — The Frequent Flier does not host, review, or endorse them.
QFS Aviation
TRIP REPORT | United Airlines - 737 900ER - Newark (EWR) to Houston (IAH) | Economy Plus
14:47 · Jul 2020
Global Aviation & Travel
REVIEW | United Airlines | Houston (IAH) - Phoenix (PHX) | Boeing 737-900 | Economy Class
21:01 · Oct 2024
Genki's Travels
VivaAerobus | A320 | Economy "Space Plus" Class | 🇺🇸Houston (IAH) - Monterrey (MTY) 🇲🇽| Trip Report
18:17 · Jul 2021
Source: YouTube. Titles, thumbnails, and channel names come from YouTube. Playing a video loads the YouTube player, and using it means you agree to the YouTube Terms of Service; the Google Privacy Policy applies.
Departing counts passengers leaving Houston; international destinations also show both directions. Data: traffic August 2025 – July 2026, on-time August 2025 – July 2026. Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics (T-100 Segment, On-Time Performance).