If you’re looking for the one story of 2008 which carried the greatest impact for the Greater Houston Area, it’s hard to imagine any nominee topping the news associated with Hurricane Ike.

This is true for both the millions of people who call Houston home and for those employees who work within the Houston Airport System (HAS). The effects of the storm were devastating for scores of people and for many homeowners, the clean-up process continues to this day.

But along with the destruction, came countless stories of dedication and hard work, and once again this holds true within HAS as well.

The three airport facilities within HAS suffered a total of $23 million worth of damage during the storm but workers there still managed to have the facilities back up and running within forty-eight hours of the storm’s passing.

Ellington Airport (EFD) played a pivotal role in the storm’s immediate aftermath, serving as both a staging area for rescue operations, as well as the backdrop for news conferences attended by both President George W. Bush and U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters.

“These airports are absolutely vital to the economy of this area,” Secretary Peters said on September 17. “Getting communities reconnected to the skies is a good way to make sure this region soars again.”

During this news conference, Secretary Peters also announced that area airports suffering damage from the hurricane would be able to receive $1 million in federal funds, designed to help pay for both immediate repair work and structural and engineering needs associated with cataloguing the damage.

That type of assessment and repair work was already well underway.

At George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) for example, damaged jet bridges and Automated People Mover (APM) train stations were both repaired within forty-eight hours and the same could be said regarding flooding in the Federal Inspection Services (FIS) building.