Bush Airport ranks #16 nationwide in tarmac wait times, Houston Business Journal says

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — The Houston Business Journal looked at FAA data from 83 major airports across the country, and IAH ranks 16th for the longest tarmac wait times from when the plane leaves the gate to when it takes off.

For anyone traveling soon out of IAH, the waiting game doesn’t end inside the airport.

“I mean, I’ve already set myself mentally to prepare to wait around longer if I need to,” Isaac Manrique said.

According to FAA data reviewed by the Houston Business Journal, planes have been taking longer to take off from the tarmac since 2024. The study shows the average time for a plane to take off at 83 listed airports has jumped to 18.26 minutes from 17.82 in 2019.

Even though IAH only saw a slight uptick last year for tarmac departures, travelers we spoke with feel the average wait time is still too high.

The same data shows that the average departure time is about 19.79 minutes compared to 19.76 back in 2019.

“It’s kind of frustrating because there’s other things that I could be doing,” Manrique said. “17:15, that’s a very long time, actually. That’s insane for a plane to take off in 20 minutes once you’ve been on it.”

The numbers at Hobby Airport were also examined. The same study says that as of last year, the average time for a plane to take off from the tarmac is 12.67 minutes compared to 10.91 in 2019.

So why have wait times on the tarmac gone up? Aviation experts in Houston say a major factor has to do with the number of flights set to take off.

“Scheduling is a major part of it. From a standpoint of, can the aircraft, ATC, get the airplanes departed and arrivals in a timely fashion. If they can’t, and they are not going to overwhelm the system, they are just going to have plans that sit on the tarmac to catch up,” said Dr. Terence Fontaine, Executive Director of Aviation at Texas Southern University.

And with a shortage of air traffic controllers due to the government shutdown, there’s a strong chance travelers will have to spend even more time on the tarmac.

“You’re going to have a tremendous amount of folks that are traveling. If this thing is not cleaned up by that point, I would say, you’re going to have an extended tarmac delays both at IAH and Hobby airport,” Fontaine said.

Experts say there’s not a whole lot one can do once they get to their seats, so that’s why some travelers tell us they just have to do their best to make the time fly by.

“Reviewing the vows that I’m about to make in a couple of days, that’s basically what I’ve been doing,” Manrique said.

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