Houston's airport system has been working for some time getting ready for the holiday seasonal rush, and this year an expected 2.2 million people will fly in and out of Bush Intercontinental and Hobby airports.
And while there may be a mad dash through the terminals starting this weekend, there are plenty of new things to keep in mind about getting around the airports this holiday season, according to Houston Airports Aviation Director Jim Szczesniak
Number One: Traffic around Bush Intercontinental's Terminal D has been constrained to three lanes for months because of construction work, but that work has now been picked up and the area near pickup and drop-off ramps (at "North Terminal Road at Bush") is back to the normal four lanes. It'll help ease the normal holiday backups somewhat.
Number Two: Even though Spirit Airlines is filing for bankruptcy, its airport operations are expected to be normal. "The bankruptcy is a kind of back-of-the-house financing deal for their bankruptcy so we won't see anything impact the traveling public right now," Szczesniak told Newsradio 740 KTRH.
Number Three: You can now find "cashless" parking available at Hobby Airport and at Bush Intercontinental in EcoPark 2 and in the terminal "C-D-E garages."
Number Four: If you go online there are places where you can even reserve a parking space.at Bush and Hobby, and even at the Houston Airports website, which also has updates on flights.
And as always, you're advised to get to the airport at least two hours before your flight leaves, and because of the congestion of holiday rush you should consider getting there three hours early.
As Aviation Director Szczesniak said, "We do have fantastic restaurants, we've got great arts in the airports, we've a new sensory room that we just opened for the holidays for travelers and kids who may have a little too much stress...we've got a new terminal that you can drop by to see, so there's plenty to do," so don't feel like you're just stuck at the airport!