Air France, Qatar Airways & United Airlines are latest to restart international flights from Houston

Air France, Qatar Airways and United Airlines made international service restarts on Sept. 2 from Houston, meaning nearly two-thirds of the airlines that operated international service at Houston Intercontinental Airport (IAH) and Houston Hobby (HOU) airports prior to the COVID-19 pandemic have now returned.

“Houston has the most airlines providing service to Mexico [among markets in Texas],” Houston Airports said in a statement.

“Some airlines—[Mexico’s] VivaAerobus and Volaris—are even adding new service to select destinations they had not previously served from Houston.”

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Routes to thirteen airports in Mexico are now operating from Houston, and flights to 14 other Latin American and Caribbean cities are also available from the city. There are also eight intercontinental destinations being served by IAH: Amsterdam (AMS); Doha (DOH), Qatar; Dubai (DUB); Frankfurt (FRA); Istanbul (IST); Paris (CDG); Taipei (TPE), Taiwan; and Toronto (YYZ).

The following airlines have restarted international service to and from Houston: Aeromexico, Air Canada, Air France, Emirates, EVA Air, KLM, Lufthansa, Qatar Airways, Southwest Airlines, Spirit Airlines, Turkish Airlines, United Airlines, VivaAerobus and Volaris.

“We are an international city with an economy that thrives on global connectivity,” Houston mayor Sylvester Turner said. “These significant steps in restoring air service will help Houston begin to recover from the economic challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic. I can assure you that this meaningful and significant restoration of international air service is being matched with a strong emphasis on safety.”

Photo credit: Houston Airports

Aaron Karp

Aaron Karp is a Contributing Editor to the Aviation Week Network.