George Bush Intercontinental Airport

Compiled by Bill Gao

Houston, Texas (United States)

IATA: IAH ICAO: KIAH

Longest Active Runway

12,001 ft

3,658 meters

Field Elevation

97 ft

30 m MSL

Runway Inventory

5 active

Lighted / Paved

Coordinates & Class

29.9844°, -95.3414°

LARGE AIRPORT

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Multi-Universe Rankings & Statistical Standing

How ranks work →

RunwayFacts Published Dataset

tied #188 of 650

In curated primary commercial index

Global Commercial Universe

#303 of 7558

Top 4.0% percentile worldwide

For airports with equal runway length, the worldwide order does not indicate a length difference.

National Standing (United States)

tied #20 of 63 in US

same length as CVG · #67 of 2020 in full national registry

vs Large Airport Median

+20%

Compared to 10,000 ft baseline

💡 IAH in numbers: 12,001 ft longest runway · tied #188 of 650 published · #303 of 7,558 worldwide (top 4.0%) · tied #20 in United States.

🔬 Operational & Aerodrome Engineering Comparative Analysis

Longest runway ≥10,500 ft

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Elevation & National Context

Lowland Aerodrome (<2,000 ft)

IAH lies at 30 m (97 ft), #445 of 650 published airports by elevation and 27.6 percentile among 7,558 worldwide. It is 510 ft below the United States median (607 ft, 63 airports); COS is highest at 6,187 ft, 6,090 ft higher than IAH.

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Regional Density & Alternates (100 NM)

0 Qualifying Aerodromes in Vicinity

No published neighbour with a paved runway of 5,000 ft or more within 100 NM of IAH. Nearest published airport: Austin Bergstrom International Airport (AUS), 121 NM, 12,250 ft (249 ft longer than IAH); 2 within 250 NM.

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Runway Inventory & National Standing

Primary Runway: 12,001 ft (3,658 m)

IAH runways: 15L/33R 12,001 × 150 ft concrete (con); 09/27 10,000 × 150 ft asphalt (asp); 15R/33L 10,000 × 150 ft concrete (con); 08R/26L 9,402 × 150 ft concrete (con); 08L/26R 9,000 × 150 ft concrete (con). National standing: tied #20 of 63 in United States with CVG at 12,001 ft; DEN leads by 3,999 ft (16,000 ft). +20% vs the 10,000 ft baseline.

🛫 Physical Runway Inventory & Surface Engineering

Runway Designator	Length (ft / m)	Width (ft / m)	Surface Material	Lighting	Status
15L/33R	12,001 ft (3658 m / 3.658 km)	150 ft (46m)	`Concrete (CON)`	✅ Lighted	✅ Active
09/27	10,000 ft (3048 m / 3.048 km)	150 ft (46m)	`Asphalt (ASP)`	✅ Lighted	✅ Active
15R/33L	10,000 ft (3048 m / 3.048 km)	150 ft (46m)	`Concrete (CON)`	✅ Lighted	✅ Active
08R/26L	9,402 ft (2866 m / 2.866 km)	150 ft (46m)	`Concrete (CON)`	✅ Lighted	✅ Active
08L/26R	9,000 ft (2743 m / 2.743 km)	150 ft (46m)	`Concrete (CON)`	✅ Lighted	✅ Active

🛡️ Source: OurAirports Open Aviation Database, snapshot 2026-09-01 · Provenance →