 Hobby Airport... "Pin It")
Direct flights to Cuba from the US are back on the table (probably, eventually) per last week’s agreement between Havana and the State Department — and whenever that happens, Southwest Airlines is looking to get in on the action from its newly-minted international concourse at Hobby Airport. The concourse has been launching passengers to Central America and the Caribbean since its mid-October opening, which marked the airport’s return to the international game for the first time since IAH opened in 1969.
Other major additions to Hobby include a 3,000-spot parking garage (shown above) still partially under construction on one of the former EcoPark lots, just west of the original garage (now labeled the Red Garage). The new structure (known as the Blue Garage) is rising in phases: Phase I opened just in time for Thanksgiving, and the rest of the structure should be ready to receive rather less anxious travelers some time next year. The pedestrian bridge shown in the photo above connects Level 3 of the new garage to the newly-expanded Terminal area:
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The new garage will net Hobby about 2,500 new spaces after taking into account the loss of the EcoPark lot. Parking lots frequently reaching capacity at the airport was the primary motivation for the Houston Airport System’s previous Know Before You Go campaign, which encouraged passengers to check real-time parking availability data in the old garage, consider drop-off options, and reserve a valet if necessary. Currently, 3 4 bus routes and 0 trains run to Hobby.
- Texas could benefit from Houston-to-Cuba air service [Houston Chronicle]
- Southwest officially opens new international terminal at Hobby Airport [HBJ]
- Parking Challenges Being Addressed at Hobby Airport [fly2Houston]
- Previously on Swamplot: What Southwest Wants To Make Hobby Airport Look Like; Southwest Spending $150 Million To Expand Hobby Airport for International Flights;
Photo: Drew Karedes via Twitter; site plan: Houston Airport System
Flew out of here to Belize and loved the changes to Hobby. That said, Southwest better get there heads together around these international flights since they’re only running one flight daily. If your flight is delayed for weather, you’ll end up in Belize City with nowhere to stay, no food, and no connecting flights since the airport shuts down at 5pm.
Glad to see these improvements. I hope that one day, the airport system will invest some money in making the terminal more appealing to those who arrive in Houston. Baggage claim sucks, and the exit into a dark, humid, and sometimes overwhelmingly filled with fumes parking garage/exit is even worse. I have never flown into another airport anywhere that has created a less welcoming environment than Hobby, especially in a major US city.
4 routes serve hobby
40 telephone
69 Broadway
73 bellfort
88 sagemont
Good catch, Adoile! Article corrected to include Broadway (now Route 50).
I hope they fixed the baggage claim. SWA at Hobby is one routinely the worst/longest/must frustrating claims in all my travels.