Houston’s Hobby Airport Closed for Runway Repairs

Houston’s Hobby Airport (HOU) closed to arriving and departing traffic this afternoon as crews make necessary, emergency repairs to Runway 13R/31L. The airport first reported the closure via X earlier this afternoon.

Runway 13R/31L is closed for a necessary repair, temporarily pausing all arriving and departing flights.

Thank you for your patience as our crews work to fix the runway. We will keep you posted.

— Hobby Airport (@HobbyAirport) July 15, 2024

This isn’t the first time we’ve seen issues with the runway. 13R/31L was also closed for repairs on July 10th for roughly an hour as well.

Please arrive early. Key points for today:

➡️At 11 a.m. Hobby Airport must shutdown Runway 13R/31L for a necessary repair estimated to take about an hour to complete. During this time Hobby airport will pause all Arriving and Departing flights.

— Houston Airports (@AirportsHouston) July 10, 2024

This appears to be a continued issue for the Runway which was first damaged back in May due to a lightning strike that occured as severe storms moved through the area.

Our maintenance crews are working tirelessly to fix the lightning strike damage and get the runway back in service.

Before arriving at the airport, we ask passengers to check with their airline for the latest flight status updates. Weather related delays will continue tonight. pic.twitter.com/dcxqsPYzYa

— Hobby Airport (@HobbyAirport) May 13, 2024

The runway closure has had a significant impact to travelers with multiple flights diverting to nearby airports including Austin’s Bergstrom International Airport (AUS). Southwest has felt the brunt of the impact due to the airline’s large focus city operation at Houston Hobby.

The runway has since reopened and flights are once again arriving and departing from the airport. However, given the multiple repairs and closures over the past week I wouldn’t be surprised to see additional issues until the runway can be properly repaired.

Based on the timings of the closures, these don’t appear to be scheduled repairs but rather emergency patches utilized to keep the airfield operational. FlightAware is currently showing departure delays in excess of one hour due to the closure. If you’re flying to, from, or through Hobby Airport, check the status of your flight with your airline.

Summary

Houston’s Hobby Airport was forced to close for the third time in three months to make repairs to Runway 13R/31L. The issues appear to stem from a lightning strike that occured back in May and has caused a ripple effect with multiple diversions and delays. Based on the emergency nature of the repairs, I expect a larger scale repair will be necessary in the future.