As part of the 40th anniversary celebration of George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH), it is an honor to have the airport’s namesake featured in two public service announcements (PSA). Expect to see some wonderful historical photos of the opening ceremony in 1969 and video of why IAH is the gateway to the world. Former President George Bush was a young legislator in the U.S. House of Representatives when he attended the ceremony along with 80,000 people. Little did he know that Houston’s largest airport would officially be named after him in 1997. His wife Barbara Bush wrote about the honor in her book “Reflections.”

© Houston Airport System Click Here to view the PSA.

After hearing rumors all year that this might happen, the Houston City Council voted unanimously to rename the city’s biggest airport. On April 30, I wrote in my diary:

This was a big day in our lives. We went out to the airport to a dinner in a hangar, then got on a Continental airplane with 200 city officials and friends and flew from Houston Intercontinental Airport around the city, landing 35 minutes later at the newly named George Bush Intercontinental Airport. The evening ended with glorious fireworks. What an honor for George and we are thrilled.

I still love it when the pilot announces, “We will land at GEORGE BUSH Intercontinental Airport in 20 minutes,” or “The weather at BUSH is…

Special thanks go out to Jim McGrath of CEO Communications, McNee Productions and Shelby Hodge of the Houston Chronicle for assisting with the public service announcements. They will be placed in the George Bush Library archives, aired on local television stations, on the Houston Airport System’s web site, fly2houston.com and throughout IAH’s terminals. .

IAH and George Bush Trivia:

Did you know that nearly 5 million people went through the Houston airport during the first year of operation? More than 40 million flew through IAH in 2008.

Did you know that the 41st President was the youngest aviator in the US Navy when he was 18 years old?
He was the last World War II veteran to serve as U.S. president, and the last president to have fought in a war before being elected.

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