Houston Airport System pulling in pre-pandemic levels of parking revenue | NewsRadio 740 KTRH

Traveling is always a hassle, but as anyone in Houston knows, traveling to either George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) or William P. Hobby Airport (HOU) can take frustrations to a new level. Specifically, the parking situations. Picking up people is a nightmare, and parking and riding a shuttle can be just as much of a problem.

But that does not stop people from doing it. Parking is generally the easier method when going to either airport, but it can get expensive. The pandemic of 2020 brought a reprieve from that, thanks to no one being allowed to travel. But now, four years removed from the shutdowns, travel is back to pre-pandemic norms, and so is the revenue for the Houston Airport System.

So far, the airports have pulled in higher revenues than ever. In 2024, they have pulled in just north of $126 million, which is more than 2019, when they took home $110 million.

Economist Hank Lewis says inflation plays a factor, of course, as parking prices have gone up, and it is turning into a massive revenue stream.

"When you adjust for inflation, for them to be on track with 2019, they have to earn $134 million...they are already at $136 million, and there is still four months left to go," he says.

Since the pandemic, the layouts have shifted, but the parking situation largely remains the same. Cramped, overcrowded, confusing, and a nightmare to navigate. To be fair, the system has implemented some upgrades to make reservations easier. It has helped some, but not nearly enough. But again, people still endure it to travel and see the world.

Simply put, people are traveling again, which is also driving the revenues up. Travel this year finally surged back to pre-pandemic levels, even setting records this summer.

Of course, the airport system does not take all of the revenue. They get whatever is left. Third party vendors run the parking situation and take home anywhere between 30 to 50 percent of the profits themselves.

Part of that is thanks to the corrupt administration of former mayor Sylvester Turner. As recently as December 2023, the system hired a former employee of Turner's, who was widely accused of rigging bids, among other things. All to make he and his friends richer, while the city fell deeper into debt.

"This is a long time history of people who were in politics, getting private contracts to work with the government once they are out of politics...all just to get more money...it is a spoiled system," he says.

The shame of that is that new Mayor John Whitmire is stuck having to try and fix what was broken by his predecessor.

"It has been very blatant since the last administration how this handling...and the current administration is unfortunately dealing with the fallout of it," says Lewis.

IAH has also been performing construction on Terminal D for some time, which has led to more parking and traffic woes. That project is projected to be complete in early 2025.