Welcome toGeorge Bush Intercontinental Airport

Houston’s airport director is rewriting leadership one step at a time.Airports are often run from boardrooms, not baggage claims. But in Houston, Director of Aviation Jim Szczesniak prefers a different vantage point. Several times a week, he trades conference calls for concourses, walking the terminals of George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) and William P. Hobby Airport (HOU) to talk directly with passengers and employees. It’s leadership in motion—face-to-face, unscripted and designed to catch problems before they become headlines.“It’s about staying connected to the operation and to the people,” Szczesniak said. “Houston Airports welcomed a whopping 63.1 million passengers in 2024. We inject $40.6 billion into the region’s economy, and our airports are ranked among the best in the world.”The ritual isn’t new. “This approach started while leading the team at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport in Alaska,” he said. “I made walking the terminals to engage with staff a priority then, and I’ve carried it with me to Houston. It’s important to be out in the field when leading a large, complex operation like this with more than 1,200 employees.”He times the walks deliberately. “I typically walk HOU and IAH on Monday mornings and Friday afternoons,” Szczesniak said. “Those are busy travel periods, and the walks give me a solid bookend to the week. I’ve blocked time on my calendar to make sure it happens. It helps me stay connected to airport operations, spot issues early and thank employees for a job well done.”The feedback has been immediate and personal. “The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, especially from employees,” he said. “Whether it’s terminal staff, maintenance crews or airfield operations, people appreciate that leadership is present and listening.”On Valentine's Day, Szczesaniak shared chocolates with passengers. In December 2025, he joined a high school choir as they serenaded passengers with holiday carols.In 2024, Houston Airports rolled out bright orange polo shirts for all employees who interact with passengers. “Orange means we can help,” Szczesniak said. “When I wear our signature orange polo, passengers often stop me with questions or concerns. That’s valuable. It helps me understand where the pain points are so I can work with the team to remove them.”Houston Airports does not many photographs of the airpory director walking the terminals in the orange polo. That’s intentional. The airport director doesn’t do it for a photo-op. He prefers to blend into the crowd, becoming just another friendly face at the terminal who happens to have the authority to fix what’s broken.Most staff recognize him, but passengers rarely do. “I’ve had travelers ask who I am, and when I say, ‘I’m Jim Szczesniak, Houston Airports Director,’ they’re surprised,” he said. “They don’t expect to see it in the fourth-largest city in the U.S., but that’s the point. I want people to see leadership out in the terminal, answering questions, offering help and being part of the experience—that’s Texas hospitality.”The greatest value, Szczesniak says, comes from hearing repeated concerns. “The biggest value is hearing directly from passengers about what’s not working,” he said. “As airport professionals, we don’t always see the friction points passengers experience. But when you get asked the same question over and over, that’s a signal that something needs fixing. These terminal walks help me identify those blind spots and work with the team to find solutions.”His message to other airport directors is simple: get out from behind the desk. “You’re doing it wrong if you’re not out in the terminal regularly,” he said. “You can’t lead an airport from behind a desk. Being out in the field—talking with travelers, listening to staff—that’s how you know what kind of experience you’re actually delivering. It’s how you spot problems early and build a strong, motivated team. Face-to-face interaction is critical if you’re serious about running a world-class airport.”For Szczesniak, the orange shirt isn’t a uniform. It’s a statement: that billion-dollar airports are built not just on concrete and steel, but on conversations in crowded terminals and trust earned one question at a time.

Travelers departing from the new Terminal E at George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) are now greeted by more than ticket counters and signage. They’re stepping into a dynamic visual experience—a curated trio of public artworks commissioned by Houston Airports that bring bold color, thoughtful geometry and cultural resonance to the heart of international travel.The newly installed pieces, Unexpected Spaces by Marta Chilindron, Continuous Motion by Graciela Hasper and Horizons Spectrum by Vargas-Suarez Universal, are more than decorative. Each work transforms the architecture of the space and elevates the traveler’s journey, offering a moment of reflection, delight or curiosity in a place typically defined by movement.“These artists are shaping the emotional and visual landscape of how people experience Houston,” said Alton DuLaney, chief curator of cultural affairs for the City of Houston. “We’re proud to present the World’s Best Airport Art program, and these new commissions reflect that honor.”Unexpected Spaces, by Uruguay-born artist Marta Chilindron, is a series of suspended glass forms that represent sunlight, foliage and water. Floating above the vestibules that lead to the departures lobby, the translucent geometry filters light into color and turns the act of entering the terminal into a vibrant, meditative moment.The installation draws on Houston’s natural beauty while creating a quiet, harmonious dialogue between the exterior and interior of the building.Nearby, Buenos Aires-based artist Graciela Hasper adds momentum with her mural Continuous Motion. Made from 322 painted metal elements arranged in rhythmic geometry, the mural captures the pulse of a city—and an airport—constantly in motion. Her use of 75 distinct colors and overlapping shapes evokes the diversity and interconnectedness of Houston’s global identity.Finally, Horizons Spectrum, by Vargas-Suarez Universal, pays homage to Houston’s aerospace legacy with a layered installation of powder-coated aluminum panels and etched airplanes. Raised in the Houston community of Clear Lake, near NASA’s Johnson Space Center, the artist incorporates design elements like the IAH baggage tag barcode and transforms aviation data into art. The result is a visual narrative about precision, energy and the infrastructure of global flight.The three works embody what makes Houston’s public art program exceptional: bold vision, meaningful storytelling and a sense of place. For three consecutive years, Skytrax has honored Houston Airports with the title of World’s Best Airport Art.“Art has the power to connect us all,” said DuLaney. “In a space like our new international terminal—where people from all over the world are coming and going—these works remind us of what Houston stands for: innovation, creativity and a warm welcome.”

At George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH), the future of ground transportation is arriving—not with fanfare, but with focused intention. This summer, Houston Airports will unveil a major expansion of the rideshare pickup zone at IAH Terminal C, a project designed to answer passenger frustration with delays, congestion and connectivity.The new design more than doubles the capacity of the existing curb, expanding both entrance and exit lanes and drastically improving flow. The goal: reduce wait times, ease traffic stress and make it faster for travelers to meet their drivers and move on with their journey. A Wi-Fi upgrade will support stronger signals and smoother connections for app-based pickups.[](https://youtu.be/SZH1RPwBcNI?si=5D7hJSmFWpXEOC-g)Positioned alongside the new Terminal E pickup zone, this expanded facility is part of the airport system's broader commitment to modernize ground access. It’s infrastructure that moves people and expectations. Completion is expected before the end of the summer.