United has announced another investment in its Houston hub by breaking ground on a new 140,000-square-foot Ground Service Equipment (GSE) Maintenance Facility at George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) and opening a new, state-of-the-art Technical Operations Training Center at the airport that will give employees a cutting-edge training experience.

United is the largest airline in Houston, with more than 14,000 employees and more than 500 daily departures.

These planned infrastructure improvements underscore the airline’s continued commitment to the employees and customers who live in the Houston area.

Since 2021, United has invested more than $32 billion worldwide including billions in modern infrastructure, cutting edge technology and nearly $10 billion alone in employee raises.

“At United, we believe that investing in our people and our facilities is the key to maintaining our leadership in the aviation industry,” said United Vice President of Airport Operations, Phil Griffith.

“With these new facilities, Ground Service Equipment Maintenance Facility and the Technical Operations Training Center, we are enhancing our ability to maintain a world-class fleet while empowering our employees with cutting-edge tools and training.

“This investment reflects our long-term vision for Houston as a critical hub for United’s operations and our commitment to sustainability, efficiency, and growth.”

United expects the new $177 million GSE maintenance facility to open in 2027 – it will support the airline’s fleet of more than 1,800 ground service vehicles and give United’s Ground Service Equipment maintenance team, comprised of more than 130 employees, even more resources to perform critical tasks like charging batteries, fabricating metal, and monitoring electronic controls with improved infrastructure and modernized workspaces.

The new, $16 million Tech Ops Training Center (TTC) will support the airline’s plan to take delivery of hundreds of new planes by 2032 and the 91,000-square-foot facility includes sheet metal and composite training shops, desktop simulators, as well as scenario-based engine maintenance and inspection trainings.

Additionally, the new Training Center will house a cutting-edge $6.3 million Move Team Facility, strategically designed to centralize United’s Super Tug operations.

United’s IAH Move Team manages over 15 Super Tugs across the airfield, efficiently moving hundreds of aircraft daily to support flight departures, remote parking areas, and Technical Operations Hangars.

This significant investment in both the Tech Ops Training Center and Move Team operations further bolsters the airline’s growth under the United Next strategy.

United Next is poised to transform the customer experience, with plans to introduce more than 500 new, narrow-body aircraft into its fleet, increase the total number of available seats per domestic departure by nearly 30%, dramatically reduce carbon emissions per seat, and create tens of thousands of high-quality, unionized jobs by 2026.

“By opening our Tech Ops Training Center, we are setting a new industry standard for real world and specialized training opportunities for United technicians,” said United Senior Vice President of Technical Operations, Maria Deacon.

“We’re also extremely pleased to break ground on a new GSE maintenance facility which will revolutionize our capacity to maintain our fleet of ground service equipment for decades to come.”