How two IAH employees turned stressful nights into success stories

From a midnight reunion to a 3 a.m. car hunt, IAH employees deliver Houston hospitality when it matters most.

Aug 13, 2025

For Raquel Alcazar, a late-night wait at George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) had all the makings of a nightmare. Her grandmother’s Aeroméxico flight landed an hour earlier, but there was still no sign of her at the Terminal E International Arrivals hall.

“I began to worry with her flight landing at 9:30 p.m., and it was now 10:30,” Alcazar wrote in an online message to Houston Airports. “She barely knows how to use her phone, and I had been waiting an hour for her.”

That’s when she met Angela Quevedo, a Houston Airports customer service representative in a bright orange shirt who offered answers and reassurance. Angela explained the longer wait needed for international arriving passengers to clear U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Angela handed Alcazar a bottle of water and checked in every few minutes until grandmother and granddaughter were reunited.

“It’s good to see that your employees care and don’t mind helping!” Alcazar wrote.

Two days later, another customer found himself in a different kind of airport limbo. After a weather-delayed flight, Steven Macomber returned to IAH at 3 a.m. — only to realize he couldn’t find his car. He had been searching for eight hours.

That’s when Houston Airports parking security specialist Tammy and her colleagues stepped in. Using entry gate records and walking the garages alongside him, the team tracked down Macomber’s vehicle in less than 30 minutes.

“The total security parking team executed a very well recovery of my misplaced vehicle and I am very greatly full to their successful results,” Macomber wrote. “Bravo!”

Both encounters happened miles apart and under vastly different circumstances, but each left a traveler feeling seen, supported and grateful.

It’s the kind of service Cliff Price, general manager of IAH for Houston Airports, knows can make all the difference.

“These moments may never make the headlines, but they define the passenger experience,” said Price. “Whether it’s helping someone through the stress of an international arrival or finding a lost vehicle at 3 a.m., our people show what Houston-friendly hospitality is all about.”