Houston airport, United Airlines continue projects despite setbacks BY WESLEY GARDNER REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT
George Bush Intercontinental Airport’s $1.36 billion Terminal Redevelopment Program is composed of two large projects making up the International Terminal Complex along with several smaller projects that will also include construction. ADDITIONS AND RENOVATIONS
United Airlines opened a new training center at George Bush Intercontinental Airport, or IAH, in January that will train 600 new ight attendants per month as Houston Airport System o cials continue work on IAH’s $1.36 billion International Terminal Redevelopment Program. Following mass layo s due to the COVID-19 pandemic, more than 784,000 individuals were employed in the airline industry nationwide as of November—an 18.6% increase from May 2020, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. United Airlines o cials said its newly expanded 56,000-square-foot Global In ight Training Center at IAH will train and hire 15,000 workers and create 1,800 jobs in the Greater Houston area in 2023. According to Phil Gri th, vice president of operations for United Airlines at IAH, the air travel provider has continued work on several projects through the pandemic, including the $32 million training center and a roughly $100 million early baggage system facility. “Given our decisions made during the pandemic, the airline is in a unique position as it relates to hiring and job growth,” Gri th said. While those projects were not included in IAH’s International Terminal Redevelopment Program— which aims to overhaul the airport’s international terminal complex—airport system o cials said the project has continued largely uninterrupted despite pandemic-related challenges. Stephanie Wiggins, chief economic development o cer for Partnership Lake Houston, touted the e ect the airport has had on the area. “Airports provide local businesses with access to the global market ... [and] enable the movement of people and goods,” Wiggins said, noting Houston airports contribute more than $36 billion annually to the city’s economy. “Because of this asset, the Houston region ... is able to retain and attract businesses to the region and our community, which brings jobs and economic growth.” United Airlines o cials said the new training center more than doubles the size of their previous
New construction
Renovation
Projected completion
GEORGE BUSH INTERCONTINENTAL AIRPORT
3
4
1
2
5
D West Pier
1
Includes the construction of a new international concourse
Baggage Screening Building
4
September 2023
Includes the construction of new facility aimed at expanding capacity and reliability of baggage handling system
International Arrivals Corridor
2
Includes the construction of a new arrivals facility
June 2023
June 2024
International Terminal
5
Mickey Leland International Terminal North Concourse
Includes the construction of a new Central Processor facility and renovations to the Federal Inspection Service building
3
Includes the refurbishment of the existing Mickey Leland International Terminal
June 2024
May 2023
SOURCE: HOUSTON AIRPORT SYSTEM COMMUNITY IMPACT
the company is in position to continue hiring new employees following the company’s heavy work- force losses during the pandemic. United Airlines lost 29,000 employees nationwide, or 31.6% of its workforce, from November 2019 to November 2020, U.S. Department of Transportation data shows.
facility with the addition of new classrooms, training stations and an aquatic center featuring a 125,000-gallon pool that will allow ight attendant trainees to practice safe evacuation strategies in the case of a water landing. With the training center’s opening, Gri th said
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