Only a short distance from Houston, Ellington Field is set to expand into an international airport over the coming year to 18 months.
$10 million is to be spent on building a new control tower, terminal, hangars and inspection station at the airfield, and it is hoped it could see domestic and non-commercial international flights starting once completed. This would make it the third airport serving Houston (after George Bush Intercontinental, and Hobby), and would also serve a catchment area of coastal towns and the city of Galveston.
Separately, the US Coast Guard is spending over $50 million on a new regional facility on the site, and the on-site Ellington Campus is also undergoing expansion. There are also plans to build a new cargo handling centre at the airport.
Ellington Airport has three runways currently and is home to the largest flying club in Texas and the annual “Wings Over Houston” airshow. It did recently have scheduled service with a cross-town Continental Express ERJ-145 route to Houston IAH.
