George Bush Intercontinental Houston Airport

George Bush Intercontinental is the principal long-haul gateway of the U.S. Gulf Coast and one of United Airlines' three largest global hubs. It serves 60 airlines on 481 routes to 232 nonstop destinations and occupies a 10,000-acre (4,047 ha) site — among the largest U.S. airport footprints — roughly 37 km (23 mi) north of downtown Houston. Five runways arranged in three parallel pairs with one crosswind allow IAH to maintain simultaneous independent operations under almost any wind condition, a configuration well-suited to the Gulf's volatile summer weather. United runs its Latin American hub here, operating the densest U.S. network to Mexico, Central America, and northern South America, with particularly strong coverage of the Gulf-of-Mexico energy corridor cities (Villahermosa, Tampico, Monterrey, Veracruz) tied to Houston's oil and gas industry. The hub is completed by substantial trans-atlantic and trans-pacific long-haul programs, including direct service to Tokyo, Sydney (via the longest scheduled flight out of the continental U.S.), Santiago, and most of western Europe. Five terminals (A, B, C, D, E) are linked by an underground people-mover, with Terminal D dedicated to non-United international operations. IAH's scale and Houston's role as the fourth-largest U.S. metropolitan area mean the airport is heavily oriented to origin-and-destination traffic from the local energy, medical, and aerospace economies, balanced against hub-connection banks timed for morning and afternoon departures to both oceans. The elevation of 97 ft (30 m) and proximity to the coast require hurricane-evacuation planning, and United's primary mainline maintenance base for widebody aircraft is co-located on the south side of the field.