HOU · Houston, United States
William P. Hobby Airport.
--:--:-- · CDT (UTC-05:00) · 29.6453° N, 95.2768° W
William P. Hobby Airport
Municipal airport serving Houston, Texas, United States
Verification trail
Source-backed facts for HOU
This section separates stable airport identifiers from live operating data. Codes, coordinates, timezone, elevation, source identifiers, and accepted reference links are retained here; live arrivals, departures, gates, delays, NOTAMs, and airline schedule changes must still be checked with the airport or carrier.
Airport catalog
OurAirports ID 3588; ident KHOU; scheduled service listed.
Cached airports.csv snapshot: 2026-04-25; runways.csv snapshot: 2026-05-21.
Official airport source
fly2houston.com
Used as the preferred live-reference handoff for terminals, gates, alerts, and airport notices.
Open sourceReference summary
William P. Hobby Airport
Airport-shaped reference summary from en.wikipedia.org; summary snapshot 2026-05-20.
Open sourceManual / derived signals
23 source-backed signals
Merged from OurAirports cached airports.csv, OurAirports cached runways.csv, Wikidata airport entity snapshot, airport-shaped Wikipedia summary snapshot; facts generated 2026-05-21.
IATA / ICAO
HOU / KHOU
OurAirports ident
KHOU
GPS / local code
KHOU / HOU
ISO region
US-TX
Scheduled service
Listed in source snapshot
Role
large scheduled-service airport
Official host
fly2houston.com
Reference host
en.wikipedia.org
Wikidata entity
Q771340
Snapshot generated
2026-05-21
Airport lookup keys
Stable codes
Regional keys
Alternate names
Nearby airport codes
Route reference codes
Accepted citation URLs
Last updated May 21, 2026. Stable airport identifiers and timezone facts are content-reviewed; clocks render live in the browser, while weather and time-difference notes are page-snapshot aids rather than permanent airport records.
Live values rendered at Nov 5, 7:08 PM UTC.
What you need to know now
Local airport time
--:--:--CDT · UTC-05:00
Time zone
CDT
America/Chicago · UTC-05:00
Airfield conditions
Live airport weather is temporarily unavailable.
Surface access
16 km
Approximate distance to central Houston.
Airport Snapshot
Country capital
Washington, D.C.
Languages
English
Currency
USD ($)
Country area
9,525,067 km²
Passenger volume
Source note unavailable
Terminals
Not clearly stated
Runways
3 runways
Longest runway
7,602 ft / 2,317 m
Runway surface
concrete (2), asphalt
Opened / operator
1969 · Houston Airport System
Owner / entity
Houston
Hub airlines
Mixed or not clearly stated
Airport role
large scheduled-service airport
Scheduled service
Listed
Fact coverage
23 source-backed signals
William P. Hobby Airport is a large scheduled-service airport for Houston, United States. Houston's built-up core sits roughly 16 km from the terminal area. Operations run on America/Chicago (UTC-05:00, CDT). Live weather is temporarily unavailable. With 3 other indexable airports in its surrounding network, it works well as a reference point for regional flight planning and timezone checks.
William P. Hobby Airport (HOU / KHOU) is at 29.6453° N, 95.2768° W, elevation 46 ft (14 m), serving Houston, United States.
The accepted reference summary is used as supporting context for the airport identity and operating notes; the timed facts here still come from the airport catalog, timezone database, country snapshot, and linked source trail.
Houston is in United States (capital Washington, D.C.); regulated by Federal Aviation Administration (FAA); on America/Chicago (CDT, UTC-05:00); working languages: English; currency: USD ($).
Distance from central Houston: 16 km.
Airport context brief
A compact traveler-facing brief from the airport catalog, country snapshot, route geometry, city anchors, peer airports, and source trail for HOU.
Name and identity cues
Primary airport name
William P. Hobby Airport (HOU / KHOU)
William P. Hobby Airport · Municipal airport serving Houston, Texas, United States
Known label 1
QHO
Alternate airport-name cue retained for HOU, not a separate indexable duplicate page.
Source identifiers
KHOU · KHOU · HOU · US-TX
fly2houston.com · en.wikipedia.org · scheduled service yes
Source-specific airport notes
Regional role cue
Hobby is Houston's oldest commercial airport, and was its primary airport until the Houston Intercontinental Airport, now known as the George Bush Intercontinental Airport, opened in 1969.
Accepted from the airport reference trail as a role-specific cue for HOU; not treated as a live service guarantee.
Location cue
Hobby Airport —colloquially referred to as Houston Hobby Airport or other short names—is an international airport in the Greater Hobby neighborhood in Houston, Texas, Harris County located 7 mi (11 km) from downtown Houston.
Used to make the airport page location-specific beyond the code, coordinate, and timezone record.
Name or history cue
Hobby is Houston's oldest commercial airport, and was its primary airport until the Houston Intercontinental Airport, now known as the George Bush Intercontinental Airport, opened in 1969.
Retained because history, naming, or opening context helps distinguish this airport from same-shaped airport pages.
Closest mapped city anchors
1. South Houston
south-houston · 4.5 km from HOU
United States · America/Chicago · +0h · population 17,544 · city coordinates 29.6630, -95.2355
2. Pasadena
pasadena-4717782 · 8.3 km from HOU
United States · America/Chicago · +0h · population 153,784 · city coordinates 29.6911, -95.2091
3. Pearland
pearland · 9.1 km from HOU
United States · America/Chicago · +0h · population 108,821 · city coordinates 29.5636, -95.2861
4. Friendswood
friendswood · 15 km from HOU
United States · America/Chicago · +0h · population 38,800 · city coordinates 29.5294, -95.2010
5. Houston
houston · 16 km from HOU
United States · America/Chicago · +0h · population 2,314,157 · city coordinates 29.7633, -95.3633
6. Deer Park
deer-park · 16 km from HOU
United States · America/Chicago · +0h · population 33,806 · city coordinates 29.7052, -95.1238
Airport alternatives in the retained graph
1. IAH KIAH
George Bush Intercontinental Airport · Houston
38 km from HOU · America/Chicago · +0h · elevation 97 ft (30 m) · airport coordinates 29.9844, -95.3414
2. AUS KAUS
Austin Bergstrom International Airport · Austin
238 km from HOU · America/Chicago · +0h · elevation 542 ft (165 m) · airport coordinates 30.1975, -97.6620
3. SAT KSAT
San Antonio International Airport · San Antonio
309 km from HOU · America/Chicago · +0h · elevation 809 ft (247 m) · airport coordinates 29.5337, -98.4698
Route-time reference set
1. HOU-AUS
Austin · 238 km · 1h 8m
America/Chicago · +0h from HOU; reference route only, not a live schedule.
2. HOU-SAT
San Antonio · 309 km · 1h 13m
America/Chicago · +0h from HOU; reference route only, not a live schedule.
Runway source evidence
Published runway count
3 runways
Longest runway 7,602 ft / 2,317 m. 3 lighted runways in the runway snapshot.
Runway surface mix
concrete (2), asphalt
Surface labels are normalized from the OurAirports runway rows for HOU.
Runway identifiers
04/22 · 13L/31R · 13R/31L
Identifier pairs are retained as airport-specific runway cues, not live operational availability claims.
Same-country airport context
1. IAH KIAH
George Bush Intercontinental Airport · Houston · 38 km from HOU
large airport · America/Chicago · united-states · 97 ft (30 m) · 29.9844, -95.3414
2. AUS KAUS
Austin Bergstrom International Airport · Austin · 238 km from HOU
large airport · America/Chicago · united-states · 542 ft (165 m) · 30.1975, -97.6620
3. SAT KSAT
San Antonio International Airport · San Antonio · 309 km from HOU
large airport · America/Chicago · united-states · 809 ft (247 m) · 29.5337, -98.4698
4. DAL KDAL
Dallas Love Field · Dallas · 386 km from HOU
large airport · America/Chicago · united-states · 487 ft (148 m) · 32.8448, -96.8477
5. DFW KDFW
Dallas Fort Worth International Airport · Dallas-Fort Worth · 398 km from HOU
large airport · America/Chicago · united-states · 607 ft (185 m) · 32.8968, -97.0380
6. MSY KMSY
Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport · New Orleans · 485 km from HOU
large airport · America/Chicago · united-states · 4 ft (1 m) · 29.9934, -90.2647
Accepted operational notes
Source note 1
Hobby is Houston's oldest commercial airport, and was its primary airport until the Houston Intercontinental Airport, now known as the George Bush Intercontinental Airport, opened in 1969.
Retained as a source-backed local role note for HOU.
Source note 2
Hobby was initially closed after the opening of Houston Intercontinental; however, it was re-opened after several years, and became a secondary airport for domestic airline service, and a center for corporate and private aviation.
Retained as a source-backed local role note for HOU.
Country and authority
HOU sits in United States (United States of America), whose capital is Washington, D.C.. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the national civil-aviation authority we name for regulator context. Country context: Americas, North America.
Traveler context
Common country-language signals: English. Currency context: USD ($). HOU is listed with scheduled service in the airport source snapshot.
Names and local labels
HOU is also associated in the airport facts snapshot with QHO. These labels help catch alternate airport names without creating separate duplicate airport pages.
Reference description
Municipal airport serving Houston, Texas, United States. This description is used only as identity context; live flight status, terminal assignment, and airport alerts still belong to the official airport or airline source.
Source-specific cues
Regional role cue: Hobby is Houston's oldest commercial airport, and was its primary airport until the Houston Intercontinental Airport, now known as the George Bush Intercontinental Airport, opened in 1969. Location cue: Hobby Airport —colloquially referred to as Houston Hobby Airport or other short names—is an international airport in the Greater Hobby neighborhood in Houston, Texas, Harris County located 7 mi (11 km) from downtown Houston. Name or history cue: Hobby is Houston's oldest commercial airport, and was its primary airport until the Houston Intercontinental Airport, now known as the George Bush Intercontinental Airport, opened in 1969.
Entity fingerprint
Wikidata airport entity: Q771340 · William P. Hobby Airport. Owner / owning body: Houston. Administrative area: Houston. Named after: William Pettus Hobby, Sr.
Field and clock profile
William P. Hobby Airport is a near sea-level field at 46 ft (14 m), positioned at 29.6453° N, 95.2768° W in the Northern subtropics. The runway snapshot lists 3 runways and a longest runway of 7,602 ft / 2,317 m. The airport clock uses America/Chicago (CDT, UTC-05:00), so cross-date arrivals should be checked against this zone rather than the airline origin city.
City and airport alternatives
South Houston is the closest retained city-time anchor at 4.5 km. IAH Houston is the closest retained airport alternative at 38 km.
Country airport peers
HOU is compared with IAH Houston at 38 km, AUS Austin at 238 km, SAT San Antonio at 309 km, DAL Dallas at 386 km, DFW Dallas-Fort Worth at 398 km inside the retained United States airport set, which is useful when backup airports share the same country context but differ by city, route network, and clock behavior.
Route geometry
HOU-AUS Austin: 238 km, about 1h 8m, +0h. HOU-SAT San Antonio: 309 km, about 1h 13m, +0h. These are distance and timezone references, not live flight availability claims.
Source trail
OurAirports ident KHOU backs the stable code, coordinate, elevation, and timezone record. fly2houston.com is attached as the official airport website. en.wikipedia.org is used only as supporting reference context. Snapshot date: 2026-05-21.
Operational Profile
Traffic profile
Reference airport
Airline role
Mixed commercial service
Terminal footprint
See operational notes
Runway footprint
3 runways · longest 7,602 ft / 2,317 m
Runway identifiers
04/22, 13L/31R, 13R/31L
OurAirports classifies HOU as a large airport with scheduled service, which gives it stronger planning value than a code-only lookup.
HOU (KHOU) is a near sea-level field at 46 ft (14 m) in the subtropics, kept in the curated set for its route, timezone, and market-planning value.
HOU sits in a broader regional network with 3 nearby curated alternatives, so airline choice and connection strategy are part of the planning story here.
HOU's runway record lists 3 runways, with the longest runway at 7,602 ft / 2,317 m and source surfaces recorded as concrete (2), asphalt.
Houston Airport System is the clearest operator or management signal we currently have on file for HOU.
- Hobby is Houston's oldest commercial airport, and was its primary airport until the Houston Intercontinental Airport, now known as the George Bush Intercontinental Airport, opened in 1969.
- Hobby was initially closed after the opening of Houston Intercontinental; however, it was re-opened after several years, and became a secondary airport for domestic airline service, and a center for corporate and private aviation.
These operational notes prefer the structured airport facts snapshot, then fall back to the accepted airport reference at fly2houston.com, then blend that with local timezone, route, and city-access data already on this page.
Decision matrix for HOU
These are the specific situations where this airport page earns its keep: time-zone conversion, city transfer planning, nearby airport backup logic, and source-confidence checks before acting.
When the clock matters
HOU uses America/Chicago (CDT, UTC-05:00). Use this before overnight arrivals, cross-date departures, and same-day connections.
When surface access matters
William P. Hobby Airport is about 16 km from central Houston; build that transfer into arrival and check-in planning.
When alternates matter
IAH Houston is the closest retained alternate at 38 km, time difference +0h.
When source checks matter
fly2houston.com is listed as the official airport website in the airport facts snapshot; live schedules, gates, routes, terminals, and NOTAM-sensitive operations still need official airport or airline verification.
How this airport compares nearby
These comparisons place HOU inside the retained airport graph by country, timezone, elevation, and coordinate neighbors. They are deterministic dataset facts, not generated flight claims.
Country-rank position
HOU ranks #34 in the curated United States airport set when large airports are listed before medium airports, then sorted by IATA code. The retained country set has 94 airports.
Same-zone airport cohort
HOU shares America/Chicago with AUS Austin US · BHM Birmingham US · BNA Nashville US · DAL Dallas US · DFW Dallas-Fort Worth US · DSM Des Moines US. This helps separate same-clock airports by city, country, code, and geography.
Elevation-neighbor cohort
HOU is 46 ft (14 m). Closest elevation peers in the retained airport set include CHS 46 ft (14 m) (0 ft delta) · SNN 46 ft (14 m) (0 ft delta) · KOA 47 ft (14 m) (1 ft delta) · UPG 47 ft (14 m) (1 ft delta) · JED 48 ft (15 m) (2 ft delta).
Coordinate-neighbor check
HOU's nearest retained coordinate neighbors are IAH 38 km +0h · AUS 238 km +0h · SAT 309 km +0h.
Flight Path Arc
Great-circle route between airports with animated plane. Pick a route.
Arriving From / Departing To
| Destination | Route code | Distance | Estimated window | Time difference | Destination clock |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Austin | AUS | 238 km | 1h 8m | +0h | --:--:-- |
| San Antonio | SAT | 309 km | 1h 13m | +0h | --:--:-- |
HOU to AUS
Austin
Distance 238 km; estimated travel window 1h 8m; destination zone America/Chicago is +0h from HOU. Use the live destination clock on this page as a cross-timezone planning cue, not as a live flight schedule.
HOU to SAT
San Antonio
Distance 309 km; estimated travel window 1h 13m; destination zone America/Chicago is +0h from HOU. Use the live destination clock on this page as a cross-timezone planning cue, not as a live flight schedule.
Airport Details
Timezone
Ground Transport and Nearby Context
The airport sits in the normal outer-ring range for a major metro gateway, so rail, shuttle coach, and ride-hail all matter when you judge the fastest arrival.
Houston is the nearest mapped city anchor in the current dataset, which makes it the cleanest companion page when travelers want to switch from airport timing into local city timing.
William P. Hobby Airport has 3 nearby indexed airport alternatives, which makes backup departures and diversion logic part of real planning instead of a theoretical edge case.
Nearby city time anchors
Airport pages are most useful when they bridge into real city clocks. These city anchors are ranked by distance from HOU, then shown with their own timezone, local time, and time difference from the airport clock.
South Houston
south-houston · 4.5 km · America/Chicago
- Local time
- --:--:--
- Diff
- +0h
Pasadena
pasadena-4717782 · 8.3 km · America/Chicago
- Local time
- --:--:--
- Diff
- +0h
Pearland
pearland · 9.1 km · America/Chicago
- Local time
- --:--:--
- Diff
- +0h
Friendswood
friendswood · 15 km · America/Chicago
- Local time
- --:--:--
- Diff
- +0h
Houston
houston · 16 km · America/Chicago
- Local time
- --:--:--
- Diff
- +0h
Deer Park
deer-park · 16 km · America/Chicago
- Local time
- --:--:--
- Diff
- +0h
West University Place
west-university-place · 17 km · America/Chicago
- Local time
- --:--:--
- Diff
- +0h
Cloverleaf
cloverleaf · 18 km · America/Chicago
- Local time
- --:--:--
- Diff
- +0h
Bellaire
bellaire · 19 km · America/Chicago
- Local time
- --:--:--
- Diff
- +0h
Fresno
fresno · 20 km · America/Chicago
- Local time
- --:--:--
- Diff
- +0h
Channelview
channelview · 21 km · America/Chicago
- Local time
- --:--:--
- Diff
- +0h
League City
league-city · 23 km · America/Chicago
- Local time
- --:--:--
- Diff
- +0h
Airlines and Network Role
William P. Hobby Airport does not have a long carrier list in the current source trail, so this page emphasizes the durable pieces travelers can safely use here: local time, field identifiers, nearby airports, and timezone differences.
The route timing references show the first cross-timezone planning burden after this airport: Austin (AUS), San Antonio (SAT). Treat them as distance and clock cues, then verify flight availability with the carrier.
Planning checkpoints
- Traffic signal: not clearly stated in the source trail.
- Terminal footprint: not clearly stated in the source trail.
- Runway footprint: 3 runways; longest runway 7,602 ft / 2,317 m; identifiers 04/22, 13L/31R, 13R/31L.
- Runway surfaces: concrete (2), asphalt; 3 lighted runways in the source snapshot.
- Operator / management: Houston Airport System.
- Opened / inaugurated: 1969.
- Network role: mixed or not clearly stated in the source trail.
Nearby Airports
Nearby airports are ranked by coordinate distance from HOU. The time difference column is computed from IANA zones against the page snapshot, while the local clocks update in the browser.
George Bush Intercontinental AirportIAH
Houston · large airport
- Distance
- 38 km
- Local time
- --:--:--
- Time diff
- +0h
- Elevation
- 97 ft (30 m)
Compare against IAH when route choice, backup departures, or arrival-side local time matters.
Austin Bergstrom International AirportAUS
Austin · large airport
- Distance
- 238 km
- Local time
- --:--:--
- Time diff
- +0h
- Elevation
- 542 ft (165 m)
Compare against AUS when route choice, backup departures, or arrival-side local time matters.
San Antonio International AirportSAT
San Antonio · large airport
- Distance
- 309 km
- Local time
- --:--:--
- Time diff
- +0h
- Elevation
- 809 ft (247 m)
Compare against SAT when route choice, backup departures, or arrival-side local time matters.
Companion Planning Tools
Questions
FAQ
What timezone is William P. Hobby Airport (HOU) in?▾
William P. Hobby Airport is in the America/Chicago timezone (UTC-05:00, CDT).
What are the codes for William P. Hobby Airport?▾
William P. Hobby Airport uses IATA code HOU and ICAO code KHOU.
Where is William P. Hobby Airport located?▾
William P. Hobby Airport is located in Houston, United States at coordinates 29.6453° N, 95.2768° W, with an elevation of 46 ft (14 m) (near sea-level field in the subtropics).
How far is William P. Hobby Airport from central Houston?▾
William P. Hobby Airport sits roughly 16 km from the nearest mapped city center for Houston.
Which route reference is most useful from HOU?▾
Austin (AUS) is one of the closest route references on this page, with an estimated travel window of 1h 8m, destination timezone America/Chicago, and a +0h difference from HOU.
Which authority regulates HOU?▾
William P. Hobby Airport sits inside United States, where civil aviation oversight is led by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
What other airports in United States are close peers to HOU?▾
HOU's curated peers in United States on this site include IAH Houston, AUS Austin, SAT San Antonio, plus 3 more.
How many runways does William P. Hobby Airport have?▾
William P. Hobby Airport's source-backed operational summary lists 3 runways, with the longest runway recorded at 7,602 ft / 2,317 m; identifiers include 04/22, 13L/31R, 13R/31L.