Carbon Bootprint

I'm sure it'll be NOTAMed, but Intercontinental Airport Houston (KIAH/IAH) has been closed through at least noon on Monday. Hobby Airport (KHOU/HOU) is closed until at least 08:00 Wednesday due to flooded runways and nearby roads. Harvey has been "downgraded" to a tropical storm but remains as a nasty rainmaker that just doesn't want to go anywhere. Not a good deal for a low-lying area with poor drainage with soil that is already saturated with more than a foot of water.

Lonewolf_50

What does this do to air traffic all over the country? Hobby and IAH are significant hubs for numerous airlines, and Southwest certainly runs a lot of traffic through Hobby. (It was out 'Hub' last week in our trip to Chicago.)

wiedehopf

OIS -- closures at the right bottom.

notams:
!IAH 08/280 IAH AD AP CLSD EXC MILITARY/RELIEF FLTS 1708281421-1708311700EST
!HOU 08/117 HOU AD AP CLSD EXC FOR EMERG RESPONSE ACFT VMC ONLY 1708272127-1708301300

Carbon Bootprint

FAA has closed both airports until further notice.

Halfnut

Some bean counter with that super sharp pencil trying to get in one more revenue fight before pulling the plug.

How many millions is lost by LUV with their 10 planes stranded at HOU and for how long?!?!?!

Southwest flies stranded Houston customers out of flooded airport - CNN


Click on the photo for runway 4/22 -

https://twitter.com/FotiABC13/status/901874109189148672

ExXB

Bush Intercontinental Airport will likely be closed until noon Thursday, according to the Federal Aviation Administration's website.
Hobby Airport will likely remain closed until 8 a.m. Wednesday, the FAA reported.
All commercial service was suspended at both airports on Sunday.

Sorry Dog

Unfortunately, it is much more than a rainmaker and a foot is an underestimate. Harvey is a flood of the century maker. Some areas have gotten 20" of water in 12 hours. As of now many areas have received 35" inches of rain. Fifty inches of water will likely be reached by Wednesday. Most all time rain records have been broken or will be.
The damage by Harvey might equal or exceed Katrina.

OldLurker

I guess they flew out before the runway was under water! So the headline about "flooded airport" would be a bit of journalistic inaccuracy.

Getting those five planes out of HOU seems like a double win. The stranded passengers got out (less work for the emergency services too), and Southwest got their planes out to use elsewhere.

I'm surprised that Southwest didn't fly out their other 10 planes too, full or empty, though maybe they didn't have crews available. It always surprises me (sitting at a safe distance) that people leave their planes, small and big, in the path of well-forecast hurricanes, rather than flying them out to safety.