Behind the Scenes at IAH: A 24/7 Hub Keeping Houston Moving
At George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH), constant motion defines daily life—flights landing and departing, weather shifting unexpectedly, and thousands of passengers flowing through terminals. To keep pace with these demands, the Houston Airport System unveiled the Integrated Coordination Center (ICC), a groundbreaking facility where TSA, the Houston Police Department, maintenance dispatch, and terminal operations now share one unified space. For the first time in airport history, all critical players operate side by side, with eyes on the same information and voices in the same room.
This 9,300 gross square foot (GSF) project relocated the Houston Airports Airside Operations Center (AOC) and Emergency Operations Center (EOC) from Terminal A into the General Services Facility. The move required significant technology and security upgrades, supported by targeted architectural and mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) interventions. Because the ICC is operational 24 hours a day, the design also included showers and lockers to support staff working around the clock.
Inside, rows of workstations glow with real-time feeds—weather radars, gate assignments, and a live map of every aircraft in Houston’s airspace. The ICC functions more like mission control than a traditional office, seamlessly pivoting from daily monitoring to full-scale emergency management. When a hurricane approaches the Gulf, the ICC transforms into a 24/7 war room. When a major diversion strands multiple aircraft, gate control can collaborate directly with airline partners to find immediate solutions without waiting for messages to move through multiple offices. And when Houston welcomes record-breaking crowds for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the ICC will coordinate security, traffic, and passenger movement to keep operations running smoothly.
The project faced several challenges that required creative problem-solving. With its technology-driven scope, the ICC demanded extensive coordination between IT, AV, security, and MEP systems. Low ceiling heights limited sight lines to the large video walls, requiring careful design to balance infrastructure needs with operational visibility. In addition, significant furniture and equipment planning was required to ensure the center’s functionality and support for staff.
For passengers, these changes remain invisible—and that’s the point. Whether it’s keeping restrooms operational, securing the airfield perimeter, or rerouting travelers when weather disrupts a flight, the ICC ensures the journey from plane to curb feels seamless. Drawing from best practices at top-tier airports nationwide, the ICC is a state-of-the-art operations hub tailored to Houston’s unique needs—transforming how the city’s largest airport responds to everything from routine weather delays to global-scale events.