William P. Hobby Airport
William P. Hobby Airport | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Summary | |||||||||||||||||||
| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||||||||||
| Owner | City of Houston | ||||||||||||||||||
| Operator | Houston Airport System | ||||||||||||||||||
| Serves | Greater Houston | ||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Houston, Texas, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Opened | June 1927 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Operating base for | Southwest Airlines | ||||||||||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 46 ft / 14 m | ||||||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 29°38′44″N 95°16′44″W / 29.64556°N 95.27889°W | ||||||||||||||||||
| Website | www | ||||||||||||||||||
| Maps | |||||||||||||||||||
FAA diagram as of 2014 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Statistics (2024) | |||||||||||||||||||
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Source: Federal Aviation Administration | |||||||||||||||||||
William P. Hobby Airport (IATA: HOU, ICAO: KHOU, FAA LID: HOU)—colloquially referred to as Houston Hobby or other short names—is an international airport in Houston, Texas, located 7 mi (11 km) from downtown Houston. Hobby is Houston's oldest commercial airport, and was its primary airport until the Houston Intercontinental Airport, now known as the George Bush Intercontinental Airport, opened in 1969. Hobby was initially closed after the opening of Houston Intercontinental; however, it was re-opened after several years, and became a secondary airport for domestic airline service, and a center for corporate and private aviation.
Houston Hobby is an operating base for Southwest Airlines, which has international and domestic flights from HOU, and carries the vast majority of its passengers. As of December 2017, Houston Hobby is the fifth largest airport in Southwest's network. Southwest opened its first international terminal at Houston Hobby, and began service from Houston Hobby to Mexico and Central and South America on October 15, 2015.
The William P. Hobby Airport covers 1,304 acres (528 ha), and has three runways. Its original art deco terminal building, the first passenger airline terminal in Houston, now houses the 1940 Air Terminal Museum.
Hobby became the first 5-Star Airport in North America by Skytrax in 2022.