Oct. 17—Traffic delays. Confusing signs. Getting lost.
These are just some of the complaints readers shared after attempting to navigate Houston's Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH).
As construction continues due to IAH's $1.3 billion International Terminal Redevelopment Program, travelers have been encouraged to add extra time to their plans to help manage traffic delays, which have undoubtedly frustrated many people.
However, that frustration existed before construction began, too. Earlier this summer, traffic nightmares had travelers abandoning their rides and walking to their terminals.
The Chronicle asked readers to share their experiences and frustrations when trying to get to their terminal on time. Here's what they said:
- Signage, signage, signage!!! IAH does a terrible job providing useful signage to navigate the routing changes while driving.
- One word: Overwhelming.
- Navigating this construction has been the worst airport experience I've ever had. From entering the airport to the Terminal C passenger pickup, I was in bumper-to-bumper traffic for 42 minutes on a Wednesday at 8 p.m. The signage was awful and confusing, so everyone was cutting each other off and yelling. Nobody knew where they were supposed to be or why everything was so bad.
- Traffic, delays, parking problems, and rideshare accessibility. Currently, the state of IAH [has been frustrating] because the construction has made it the worst airport in the country.
- I had a flight leaving from Terminal A this past week. After arriving at the airport 2 hours before my departure, it took an hour to get from the intersection of JFK Blvd and Greens to the terminal. Upon arriving at the terminal, I was informed all terminal parking (across all terminals) was closed and only being used for employees. There were no signs letting anyone know this. After trying to get back to park I knew I wouldn't make it to the flight. Even with TSA PreCheck there was no way. I had to reschedule for a later departure and it cost me $140.
- There is not enough time to make a change if you end up in the wrong lane.
- I had a fender bender in front of Terminal C pick-up area and other drivers were so rude. "Just what we need!" By the time drivers make it to the terminal, they are frustrated and mad as hell.
- Extremely frustrating long car lines, confusing terminal check-in closures, and chaos.
- I've flown in and out of IAH for more than 20 years and the lunacy gets worse with each passing year. After choosing to fly into Hobby in 2019, I chose to again fly into IAH this past August. I was blown away by how unorganized IAH has become. Cars park in the middle of the roadway waiting for someone to come out of the airport thus creating a backed-up mess. While taking a shuttle from the car rental building to the terminal where I needed to check in to fly back to Sacramento, the situation was even worse. Cars sitting and refusing to move while waiting for someone to come out of the airport, traffic backed up, and no rhyme or reason for the chaos and I almost missed my flight, due to no fault of my own. No one [being] available to direct traffic and keep it flowing was something else I noticed. But, for the most part, I see IAH as being poorly designed both inside the airport and outside the airport. Even the periphery is an utter mess. Poor road sign visibility and bad stoplight placement should be mentioned as well.
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