Houston's Bush Intercontinental and Hobby airports reopened
late Wednesday afternoon with what they described as "very limited"
flight schedules.
United and Southwest, the largest airlines at those airports,
says it will ramp up operations cautiously.
United, which has its second-largest hub at Houston Bush,
flew three flights in and out of the airport on Wednesday. Another 28 flights
are scheduled for Thursday, with each going to one of the six other hubs in
United's domestic network, spokesman Charles Hobart said.
United typically flies approximately 500 flights from
Houston each day.
Hobart said United expects to resume a portion of its
regional flight schedule at Bush on Friday, but it will be several weeks before
full operations resume.
"It's a matter of making sure we have the right crews
and equipment and employees in place to operate a full schedule. That is going
to take some time," he said.
Hobart added that Houston Bush had suffered minimal damage,
if any, from the flooding wrought by Hurricane Harvey.
Southwest, the largest airline at Hobby, will wait until
Saturday afternoon to resume a limited flight schedule there, spokeswoman
Brandy King said.
"The opening of the airfield is a real milestone and we
applaud our partners at the City of Houston for setting the stage for airlines
to begin rebuilding flight service at Hobby," King wrote in an email. "Now,
we must ensure that we have adequate staffing and functional concessions,
airport facilities, roadways and parking to serve our customers."
Normally, Southwest operates approximately 150 flights daily
from Hobby, with a reduced schedule on Saturdays.