As a lifelong resident of Houston and a one time employee at this airport I have both a passenger and insider’s view of it. This airport is among the top 10 busiest fields in the nation. To make it an easier read I will just break down some of the key features for you.

Parking: There are great hourly garages that cost $2 per hour where you can leave your car and go meet your party. However, they require a good walk to get to the terminals from. This can be an issue for the elderly or disabled.
Parking for passenger drop off is fine in terminals A, B, and C. Pickup is fine in A and B. The problem terminals C and D have are with lack of enough space for the amount of vehicles that come into the international airport in America’s fourth largest city. Terminal D (the international building) has a mere 2 lanes to park in for both pickup and drop off which extend perhaps a quarter mile. Terminal C has a pickup in car waiting are of only 4 lanes that accommodate roughly 10 cars in each lane. If the traffic is heavy the police/security forces you to circle the terminal so everyone stays moving.

Police/Security: For the most part they do an okay job. However, police run tons of speed traps on JFK Blvd. which goes into the airport from the main side. They have run stings where they park on the sides of overpasses and flag drivers down. IMHO this causes more accidents because people tap brakes and become anxious and excited. It would be safer if the police did not bother people up to like 8 mph over the limit as to allow the smooth flow of traffic. Parking at the terminals for passenger pickup is also sometimes a hassle if the police/security is in a bad mood that day. I have seen people having their cars towed away or being ticketed for leaving their cars for less than 30 seconds. I have also seen people being hassled if they take too long loading their luggage in their cars. That is just flat out wrong. The city needs to train their people in the arts of interpersonal skills. But that said, a vast majority of the folks out there are not like this. I suppose the jerks tend to stand out in my memory.

Construction: It is always ongoing. I do not know what money pit the city tapped but my question is “can I get a cut?”. There are always orange barrels everywhere. The section of road between terminals C and the newly built terminal E is in shambles. The pavement is all broken up and there is literally dirt everywhere. When it rains it becomes a mosh pit of sorts. There are plenty of dump, trash, and cement trucks in that area so watch out! Construction also blocks perfectly fine lanes with barrels and barriers which creates gridlock.

Transportation: An automated train connects the terminals. Travel on this train is super easy and can be accessed in the basement of each building. They did a great job on this thing. BTW, tracks are stilling built so watch for the construction here as well.
Houston’s metropolitan transit authority (METRO) operates a few bus lines that take one from the airport to downtown and the rest of Houston via connections. The busses are frequent and the schedule kept but I would discourage people from this option. METRO is a self proclaimed marvel in Houston but to me it is a dinosaur in need of extinction. Of every 8.25% of sales tax paid in Houston about half goes to METRO. I say lower the tax, eliminate METRO, and let private companies handle it. Big organizations with unlimited funds waste money and resources. This is not relevant to the airport but if you want more information on the cons of METRO contact me and I will provide urls and more information for you.
Taxi service is frequent and you can get a cab in minutes. Some of the drivers are scary! They drive like animals and do not care who they cut off or nearly hit. Most of them are friendly and polite though.

Rental Car Service: The best I have seen! All rental car buses are city run and brand new. They smell like new cars. This was all done in preparation for the Super Bowl on Feb 1, 2004. An entire rental car terminal is where the bus takes passengers to from each terminal. Names like Hertz, Avis, National, etc. can be found in that building. The entire process is very efficient and smooth flowing since it was designed to eliminate the car companies from operating their own busses and creating more traffic and pollution. However, they should have built a train line to the car terminal in my opinion. The diesel buses still pollute quite a bit.

Hotels/Restaurants/Restrooms: There is a Marriott built into the airport between terminals B and C. Aesthetically, the building is a nightmare. It is 1970’s spindle top design with bland hues of brown and cream. I have not stayed in the hotel since I live in Houston but the interior has the standard hotel stuff. It looks okay to me. There are several lower cost Sleep Inn, Hyatt, Holiday Inn, and such on JFK which have a vast range of prices. Also on JFK you will find a Taco Bell, Jack in the Box, and a Kettle breakfast buffet place. A few miles from JFK is an adult club called Rick’s. Inside the airport you will find your standard McDonalds and such. If you are into food you should visit terminal E. This is where they have real restaurants with waiters and food served in glass plates instead of foam boxes. The restrooms in the airport are in pretty bad condition not so much because of lack of care but because people use them like they are animals. There is always a foul stench of urine in the men’s rooms in terminal C which is the busiest area in the airport. I always see clean up crews clean and take out trash but they can not keep up with the mess people make.

I will not comment on service by airline staff because that reflects on only the specific airline and not the whole airport.

Everything considered it is an above average airport with a few problems which can be corrected.


Recommended: Yes

Best Suited For: Singles
Best Time to Travel Here: Anytime