HOUSTON – The City of Houston is preparing for the potential impacts of an incoming winter storm, which has prompted the decision to close its airports.
First announced during a press conference held by Houston Mayor John Whitmire Sunday evening, the closure will go into effect at Monday night at midnight, and last throughout the entire day Tuesday. The move is expected to cause significant disruptions, as explained by Jim Szczesniak, the director of aviation at the Houston Airport System.
“It’s going to be pretty epic for the disruptions that we’re going to see here. So, stay home is definitely warranted,” he said.
OUR FIRST COVERAGE: Bush, Hobby airports to be closed Tuesday, Mayor Whitmire confirms
Houston’s airport system, one of the largest in the world, handles nearly 2 million passengers monthly. The storm’s impact could be substantial, with Szczesniak noting, “On a typical day at this time of the year, we’re probably somewhere in the neighborhood of about 450 flights to 500 flights. So significant cancellations.”
Szczesniak estimated that over 100,000 passengers could be affected by the airport closures on Tuesday. Passengers have options to leave early, later, or reschedule altogether.
“The thing that passengers really need to understand is that the airlines, a lot of them have implemented the travel waivers. So, you can call your airlines and maybe you can get out tomorrow or you can change your flights to another day because of the fact that that storm is there,” Szczesniak advised.
Despite the inconvenience, airport staff believe that proactively closing the airports is the best choice to prevent chaos in the terminals.
“Because of the fact that we’re proactively closing, it’s going to help us give a better situation so that we don’t have any people left at the airport. So, we’ve been working with the airlines to make sure that the last flights out take the passengers. And we don’t have anybody that’s remaining at the airport.”
While major power outages are not expected, the possibility of reopening the airports on Wednesday depends on the storm’s intensity.
