USA Today
Harvey: More Houston flights on Friday, but normal is a long way off
Ben Mutzabaugh, USA TODAY Published 7:14 a.m. ET Sept. 1, 2017 | Updated 9:08 a.m. ET Sept. 1, 2017
Tyler Franz of Charlotte waits for his flight at a nearly-empty Hobby Airport on Thursday, Aug. 31, 2017. (Photo: Steve Gonzales, Houston Chronicle via AP)
Flight schedules were slowly resuming in Houston on Friday, but it could take weeks until the city’s two busy airports are back to normal schedules.
Overall, more than 11,300 flights have been canceled nationwide since Harvey first began affecting flights last Friday (Aug. 25). The bulk of those cancellations
were directly related to the storm, including nearly 10,000 just at the two Houston airports,
according to flight-tracking service FlightAware.
Operations at Houston’s Bush Intercontinental and Hobby airports had been at a standstill since Hurricane Harvey slammed into the region last weekend. Both airports
closed by Sunday and remained so through Wednesday afternoon, when a handful of flights began operating.
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“The plan is to begin a phased return to service, with full service expected by this weekend,” the agency that runs the Houston airports
said in a statement Thursday evening.
Whether the airlines serving the airports are able to resume full schedules before Monday remains to be seen.
Among the numerous post-Harvey complications: Many roadways remain flooded in the Houston area, creating difficult travel for airline and airport employees trying
to get to work.
So far, the restart of flights in Houston has been slow.
Southwest, which operates the vast majority of flights at Houston Hobby, won’t even resume flying there until noon local time on Saturday. At United – the dominant
carrier at Bush Intercontinental – spokesman Charles Hobart told the
Chicago Tribune it will likely take “weeks” before the company’s operations are back to full steam there.
Airlines with smaller presences in Houston will see a quicker rebound since they have markedly fewer flights and less-complicated schedules to resume than the operations
run by United at Bush Intercontinental and by Southwest at Hobby.
Even so, American -- which does not operate a hub at either airport -- said it won't be until Wednesday (Sept. 6) until it resumes full operations at Hobby and Intercontinental
airports. The airline is not "overnighting" crews or aircraft at either airport until Tuesday evening, causing some cancellations of the carrier's normal morning flights, according to spokesman Ross Feinstein.
Overall on Friday, more than 1,150 flights were preemptively grounded, all canceled before midnight Tuesday as the Houston airports worked to get back on track.
That number could tick higher during the course of the day.
But there have been hopeful signs, too.
For starters, only 588 flights have already been canceled for Saturday. If that figure holds, that would be one of the lowest tallies of preemptive cancellations since Harvey first hit Texas. Even more encouraging for fliers: As of 12:20 a.m. ET on Friday morning,
FlightAware’s two-day cancellation tracker showed zero preemptive cancellations for Sunday. By 7 a.m. on Friday, 16 cancellations had been reported to FlightAware, nearly all to or from Bush Intercontinental. Still, that number hinted that Sunday might be
the best day for flight operations at Houston since Saturday (Aug. 26).
Another promising sign was found at Bush Intercontinental, where United’s ramp-up appears to be going slightly quicker than expected. On Wednesday, the carrier flew
just six flights – three arrivals and three departures. Normally, United averages about 960 flights a day at Bush Intercontinental -- its second-busiest hub.
On Thursday, United reported 71 flights in operation, according to
TheStreet.com. While still a modest number, it was greater than the 41 flights United had initially forecast. The airline also expected its initial Houston flights to operate only to its other hub cities. But on Thursday,
it was able to fly between Houston and non-hub cities, such as New Orleans and Savannah, Ga., according to
TheStreet.com.
"Right now, we're focused on getting people into Houston, (people) who have wanted to get there for quite a while and haven't been able to," United spokesman Charles
Hobart told the publication.
United expected even more Houston flights Friday, including the resumption of limited service on its United Express regional partners.
Still, United said those who don’t urgently need to travel to Houston should consider waiting.
“If you have an upcoming United flight that includes travel through Houston, we recommend postponing your travel until conditions improve,” United said in a
statement. “The Houston area is extremely taxed and may not have the resources to offer hotel and restaurant services to Houston visitors.”
United’s plea echoed similar concerns raised by Southwest and by the airports themselves.
“Only those with a ticket for a confirmed scheduled flight should come to the airport. Many roads around the City of Houston are still unsafe for travel, therefore,
we urge all passengers to take their time arriving to the airports and to solidify a safe route to and/or from our facilities,” the Houston Airports agency added in its own
statement.