On Jan. 19, Jarrett Simmons, Houston Airports Deputy Director of Infrastructure and Chief Development Officer, was a panel member during the Construction Management Association of America, CMAA, meeting that discussed “Aviation Resiliency During COVID.” 

Simmons noted that, after a record-breaking 2019, Houston Airports absorbed significant losses resulting from the pandemic. Travel restrictions and a slump in demand among travelers led Houston Airports, and literally every airport around the world, to suffer such losses.  

The pandemic had a profound impact on the U.S. aviation industry. According to the U.S. Government Accountability Office, passenger traffic in April 2020 was 96% lower than April 2019, and stayed 60% below 2019 levels in 2020. The effects of the pandemic continue to significantly impact airports as well as the supply chain. 

However, Houston Airports financial preparedness allowed its groundbreaking modernization program, the IAH Terminal Redevelopment Program, ITRP, to forge forward and make considerable progress. Air travel continues to rebound in spite of COVID and its ever-evolving variants. 

Houston Airports is a longtime member of the CMAA, a 16,000-member industry association dedicated to the practice of professional construction management. The organization’s diverse membership includes federal, state, and local governments; private sector owners; construction consultants; technology suppliers; academia; and legal organizations. Their common goal: to improve U.S. infrastructure. 

Other members of the distinguished panel included David McNamara (Faithful and Gould), Suzanne Kearns (University of Waterloo),  Cameron Bryan (Federal Aviation Administration), and Mohamed Charkas (DFW Airport).