US: Harvey blocks major air travel artery through Houston

Houston's airports took a direct hit by Hurricane Harvey, leaving commercial air service at a standstill and a major air transit artery blocked just days before one of the busiest travel weekends of the year. George Bush Intercontinental Airport was shut down Sunday to all but military and relief flights for the storm-battered city. The airport is expected to remain closed at least until Thursday, August 31 at noon CT, according to the FAA. IAH, shorthand for the Houston's biggest airport, is the 14th busiest airport in America with 20m passengers flying through in 2016. It's the second largest hub for United. Houston's Hobby Airport, a hub for Southwest, also remained closed Monday and wasn't scheduled to reopen to commercial flights until Wednesday at 8 am. With more rain expected to pound the city in coming days, it was unclear when the airports might reopen. A decision to reopen ultimately falls to the city. Travellers at United's other hubs said flights were operating with long lists of standby passengers who would've otherwise flown through Houston. A United spokeswoman said it was adding capacity elsewhere in its network to account for the Houston closure. Airlines will move planes around and add fights to accommodate passengers who would've flown through Houston. Carriers will "rob Peter to pay Paul to pad their schedule," said Ken Jenkins, principal crisis response strategist at NavAid Crisis Consulting Group. But already congested airports mean open gates in other cities are scarce. "It's a huge undertaking, especially when you're a huge airline like United and Southwest," said Jenkins. The impact of Houston's closure is also likely to ripple across airline operations throughout the country in coming days as pilots and flight attendants based in Houston, country's fourth largest city, aren't able to get to their assignments.<br/>