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The Houston Airport System (HAS) handled 62.8 million passengers in the 12 months ending March ’25. That represents a 3.4 percent increase over the 60.7 million handled over the same period last year and a continued improvement over pre-pandemic levels of travel. Domestic and international travel accounted for 49.7 million and 13.1 million passengers, respectively.  

Air cargo through Houston Airports remained steady, with 12-month totals increasing slightly by 1.2 percent. Although down from the August ’22 peak, cargo is still well above half a million metric tons for the 12 months ending in March ’25. 

Travel in the month of March declined slightly from March ‘24, falling 1.7 percent. Domestic travel dropped 2.1 percent to 4.1 million while international travel remained more constant, seeing only a 0.3 percent decrease to 1.1 million. The number of passengers declined at William P. Hobby Airport (HOU) while remaining flat at George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH). 

Viva Aerobus announced expanded service from George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) to the new Felipe Angeles International Airport (NLU) in Mexico City beginning in November ’25. Viva’s existing routes connect IAH to other airports in Leon, Guadalajara, Mexico City, Monterrey, and Queretaro. This announcement coincides with several other new routes to Mexico, including United Airlines’ service to Puerto Escondido, which launched in early April. These expansions highlight the strong ties between Houston and Mexico. Last year, 5.1 million people traveled between the two locations, an increase of nearly 75 percent since ‘14. 

METRO has also announced the new 500 IAH Downtown Direct route, a non-stop ride from the George R. Brown Convention Center (GRB) to IAH Terminal C. The new bus service comes as Houston prepares to host the World Cup in ’26 and makes progress towards transforming the GRB into a walkable convention and entertainment district.  

Both Houston Airports, HOU and IAH, performed well in the 2025 Skytrax World Airport Awards: 

• HOU retained a 5-star rating for the 4th year. 
• IAH maintained a 4-star rating for the 8th year. 
• Houston Airports won the “World’s Best Airport Art” award for the third year in a row.  

For more news and information, visit fly2houston.com.

Prepared by Greater Houston Partnership Research

Clara Richardson
Analyst, Research
Greater Houston Partnership
crichardson@houston.org

Colin Baker
Manager of Economic Research
Greater Houston Partnership
bakerc@houston.org