Denver International Airport

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Denver International Airport
Denver Airport Logo.svg
DIA Airport Roof.jpg
Characteristics
ICAO code KDEN
IATA code THE
Coordinates

39 ° 51 '42 "  N , 104 ° 40' 23"  W Coordinates: 39 ° 51 '42 "  N , 104 ° 40' 23"  W
Height above MSL 1655 m (5430  ft )
Transport links
Distance from the city center 37 km northeast of Denver
Street I-70 , E-470
Local transport S-Bahn :
RTD A Line
Basic data
opening February 28, 1995
operator City & County of Denver Department of Aviation
surface 13727 ha
Terminals 1 3 concourses
Passengers 69,015,703 (2019)
Air freight 304,803 t (2019)
Flight
movements 		640,098 (2019)
Capacity
( PAX per year) 		50,000,000
Employees 35,000
Runways
07/25 3658 m × 46 m concrete
08/26 3658 m × 46 m concrete
16R / 34L 4877 m × 61 m concrete
16L / 34R 3658 m × 46 m concrete
17R / 35L 3658 m × 46 m concrete
17L / 35R 3658 m × 46 m concrete

i1 i3 i5

i7 i10 i12 i14

The Denver International Airport ( IATA : DEN , ICAO KDEN short DIA ) is an international commercial airport about 40 kilometers northeast of downtown Denver , Colorado , in the United States . In terms of floor space, it is the second largest airport in the world after Dammam Airport and, in terms of traffic volume, the fifth largest US airport after Atlanta , Los Angeles , Chicago-O'Hare and Dallas / Fort Worth . It ranks 20th worldwide . It serves as a hub for United Airlines and Frontier Airlines . In 2019, 69.0 million passengers used the airport.

history

DIA replaced the old Stapleton International Airport in 1995 , making it one of the youngest US airports. The construction goes back to an initiative of the Mayor of Denver and later US Secretary of Transportation Federico Peña to prevent further noise pollution in the Denver area. In addition, Stapleton reached its capacity limits at that time and caused frequent delays due to the sometimes extreme weather conditions and its function as a hub in the American air traffic system. In order to be able to realize the project, part of the neighboring Adams County district was transferred to the city of Denver in 1989 . The city of Denver was enlarged by 50 percent. In memory of these efforts around Denver, the access road was named after Federico Peña (Peña Boulevard).

The opening of the new airport, which was originally planned for 1993, was delayed by over a year, as the fully automated baggage handling system in particular caused massive errors during tests. After a revision that took 16 months, the airport was put into operation with largely manual baggage handling. Only United Airlines partially operated the originally built system for its outgoing flights, but shut it down for good in 2005.

At the time the airport was planned and built, two airlines, Continental Airlines and United Airlines, were operating a hub in Denver. However, since Continental largely withdrew from Denver as part of bankruptcy proceedings in 1994 and gave up the hub, United Airlines was the only airline that operated a hub in Denver when it opened. The layout of the terminals is due to this fact to this day, as the airport was designed in such a way that Concourse A was built exclusively for Continental Airlines and Concourse B for United Airlines, after Continental won a lottery ticket for the more attractive one because it was closer to the main building Gate area A had been awarded.

Since opening, many logistics centers have settled near the airport. So-called “ambassadors”, uniformly clad airport employees, help 160,000 passengers a day to find their way around the airport. This system of personal guidance and accompaniment has been adopted by many airports.

In 1997, the airport received the Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement Award from the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE).

General

Denver Airport, operated by the City & County of Denver Department of Aviation, is the second largest airport in the world by the area it occupies. Denver's sixth runway, labeled 16R / 34L, is the largest commercial runway in North America. The length of 4877 meters was necessary to enable a fully loaded Boeing 747 or Airbus A380 to take off at high outside temperatures; especially in the summer months, in connection with the height of the airport above sea level, the density altitude increases , as a result of which the engines produce less thrust.

With an area of ​​137.8 km², the airport is twice the area of ​​Manhattan, as is the area of ​​cities such as Boston, San Francisco and Miami. Due to its enormous area, the airport can also operate atypical business areas. The airport, for example, produced crude oil on the site until May 2018. The airport has more than 44,000 parking spaces. The car park operator is Conduent. There are three solar systems on the site with an annual production of around 13 million kWh of electricity, which corresponds to around 6% of the airport's electricity needs. A fourth solar system is under construction.

DIA has a fully developed Wi-Fi network, which is operated by AT&T and Cingular , and T-Mobile hotspots are also available in the lounges of United Airlines, American Airlines and Delta Airlines .

The airport was named the second best airport in North America and best in the USA at the Skytrax World Airport Awards 2019.

Furnishing

Overview map
Aerial view in winter

The airport consists of a terminal building that houses the check-in area for all airlines, passenger security checks, baggage claim, car rental counters and various restaurants and shops. To the north of the terminal building are Halls A to C (Concourse A, B, C), which house the passenger boarding bridges to the aircraft. The terminal building and the halls are connected by an underground driverless train. The train route with a total of four stations is approximately 2 km (1.25 miles). Concourse A can also be reached via a 365-foot glass pedestrian bridge. There is a separate security area in front of the pedestrian bridge. Incoming international passengers are directed over this bridge to customs and border clearance in the main building.

The terminal building is named after the businessman and aviation pioneer Elrey B. Jeppesen , the founder of Jeppesen Inc. in Englewood, Colorado , which brought out the first navigation charts.

In August 2017, the Denver City Council approved a contract between the airport and the Great Halls Partners consortium ( Ferrovial , Saunders Construction, Magic Johnson Enterprises / Loop Capital). As part of the so-called Great Hall project, the terminal building is to be renovated and converted for USD 650 million. The security check is to be relocated from level 5 to level 6 and placed behind bulletproof glass. About 1/3 of the area on level 6 is to be used for the security area. The airline's check-in counters are to remain on level 6 and be adapted to the changed requirements. 176 counters and 224 self-service machines are to be built. A waiting area with shops, restaurants and seating is to be created on level 5 on the international arrival side and on the opposite side. The area in between will also be laid out with shops and restaurants on around 3,400 m² and will be available to passengers after passing the security checks and before boarding the train to the departure terminal.

As part of this public-private partnership (PPP), it was agreed to hand over the operation of the terminal to Great Hall Partners for a period of 30 years. The consortium would have received USD 24 million annually for maintenance and financing costs. The total payments for the term of the contract were USD 1.2 billion. 80% of the lease income in the terminal area would have remained with the airport, the remainder would have been paid to Great Hall Partners. Difficulties arose during the construction work. Great Hall Partners, for example, claimed that inferior concrete had been found in the old building that had to be extensively renovated. An appraiser appointed by the airport confirmed the different concrete qualities but saw no static problems. It was foreseeable that Great Hall Partners would make corresponding additional financial claims. On August 12, 2019, the Denver district terminated the contract with effect from November 12, 2019. The airport now wants to continue the project under its own responsibility. Great Hall Partners is entitled to a minimum of $ 200 million in compensation under the terms of the contract. In the meantime, the city has re-awarded it and the construction period is expected until 2024.

Gates

Denver has three so-called concourses (A, B and C) with a total of 111 gate positions. Concourse A is the southernmost of them. The largest users are Frontier Airlines and Delta Airlines. International flights from Lufthansa , British Airways , Air Canada , Icelandair , Volaris , Edelweiss , Cayman Airways , Norwegian and Aeroméxico are also handled here. Further north is Concourse B, the largest at the airport. This is where United Airlines flights take off . The northernmost and smallest concourse is Concourse C. This is where the gates of Alaska Airlines and Southwest Airlines are located. There is an option to build two more concourses, D and E, as well as another terminal.

Plan of the gate extension

In November 2017, the Denver City Council received the approval of the plan and contracts to expand the gates in all three concourses. A total of 39 new gates are to be built by 2021 at a cost of USD 1.5 billion. The aim is to increase the airport's capacity to 80 million passengers per year. The project and the associated architectural and construction contracts were unanimously approved by the city council on November 13, 2017. The official start of construction took place on May 29, 2018. The first four new gates on the west side of Concourse B should be completed by the end of 2020.

Transport links

When it opened, the airport could only be reached via the specially constructed feeder road that branches off from the I-70 motorway. In the meantime the E-470 motorway ring has been built, which offers a further development option.

As part of the FasTracks project, a connection by high-speed train (maximum speed 79 miles per hour. / 127 km / h) by the University of Colorado A Line was put into operation in April 2016. The line will run from Union Station in the city center to Blake Street, where it will turn west onto Smith Road parallel to I70 and finally run along Peña Boulevard to the airport. There are a total of 6 stations between the end stops, with Peoria having the option to change to the R Line, which runs south. The trains run every 15 minutes (every half hour on the edges of the day) and take 37 minutes to cover the 23 miles (37 km) long route to Union Station. A day ticket for the tariff zone to the airport costs USD 10.50 and entitles you to any number of journeys on the day of issue in the entire traffic area of ​​the regional transport association RTD. Buying a single ticket also costs USD 10.50

A transit and hotel center has been built at the airport since 2013, consisting of a local traffic center with train station and bus terminal as well as a Westin hotel with 519 rooms and 35 suites. An event and exhibition hall called Public Plaza was built next to it. The project cost is $ 598 million. The hotel opened on November 19, 2015.

Data

The tent roof is the symbol of the DIA
Tower
terminal

The new airport was designed by the architects Curtis Fentress and James Bradburn . The engineer Horst Berger took over the engineering planning of the fabric roof as a consultant to Severud Associates. As an allusion to the nearby Rocky Mountains , the roof of the passenger terminal was provided with 34 symbolic mountain peaks made of translucent and almost self-cleaning Teflon - coated fiber canvas in two layers. In between there is a 40 cm thick air cushion. The rooftops move up to 80 cm in the wind. For Fentress, the roof is the architectural highlight of his professional life. It's a well-known example of lightweight construction in the United States.

The airport covers a total of 13,727 hectares with six runways. Five of them are 3658 meters long and one is 4870 meters long. Three runways are at least 1310 meters (4300 feet) apart and thus allow parallel operation even under poor visibility conditions. Passengers are handled at 147 boarding gates, 107 of which have boarding bridges. The plan is to expand the airport to ten runways. The planned 300 passenger gates will then be able to handle 100 million passengers a year.

Destinations and airlines

In 2019, almost 69.0 million passengers took off or landed at Denver International Airport. Of these, 3.18 million (4.6%) passengers were on international flights. Currently the largest aircraft that regularly flies to the airport is the model 747-400 , operated by both Deutsche Lufthansa and British Airways .

In total, Denver is connected non-stop to more than 190 airports. The main flight destinations from Denver are Los Angeles , Phoenix-Sky Harbor , San Francisco , Las Vegas , Chicago-O'Hare , Seattle-Tacoma , Atlanta , Dallas / Fort Worth , Minneapolis-Saint Paul and Salt Lake City . There are international flights to various destinations in Mexico and Canada, as well as to London Heathrow , London Gatwick , Frankfurt , Munich , Paris Charles de Gaulle , Reykjavík , Tokyo and Panama . Seasonal flights are offered to Liberia, Costa Rica , San José (Costa Rica) , Grand Cayman , Belize City and Zurich . Denver is the only airport outside of a 1500 mile radius that can be reached directly from LaGuardia Airport , except on Saturdays . The same applies to the 1250 mile limit of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport , for which Denver has received one of the few exceptions.

In 2019, the main airlines (by passengers carried) were United Airlines (with United Express) (44.7%), Southwest Airlines (27.4%) and Frontier (11.5%). Deutsche Lufthansa was the largest foreign company with 394,843 passengers and a market share of 0.6%. The lease with United, which is valid until 2035, stipulates that the airline will hold at least 9.1% of the total available capacity in Denver until at least 2025.

Airline market shares in passenger volume
airline 2011 2018 comment
American Airlines 2.80% 5.02%
Delta Air Lines 4.65% 5.39%
Frontier Airlines 22.28% 11.45%
Southwest Airlines 21.74% 29.04%
United Airlines 42.96% 43.46%
US Airways 2.41% 0.00% 2013 merger with American Airlines, brand abandoned in 2015
Others 3.15% 5.64%

Traffic figures

Source: Denver International Airport
Denver International Airport traffic figures 1996-2018
year Passenger volume Air freight ( tons ) Airmail (tons) Aircraft movements (with military)
National International total
2018 61,543,762 2,950,851 64,494,613 253,698 24,622 603,403
2017 58,787,744 2,591,652 61.379.396 238.203 27,082 582,486
2016 55.962.262 2,304,253 58.266.515 228,675 21,546 572,520
2015 51,821,889 2,192,613 54.014.502 222,618 24,946 547,648
2014 51.264.305 2,208,209 53,472,514 220.708 14,903 575.161
2013 50,592,697 1,963,662 52,556,359 213.242 13,073 586.860
2012 51,426,550 1,729,728 53.156.278 221.375 15.306 618.257
2011 51.134.947 1,714,185 52.849.132 232.140 16,044 634.680
2010 50,064,738 1,920,300 51,985,038 234.824 17.004 635.445
2009 48.276.054 1,891,431 50.167.485 212,365 12,056 611,977
2008 49.045.298 2,200,036 51.245.334 239.069 11,976 625,844
2007 47,673,289 2,190,063 49,863,352 260,329 7,019 619.314
2006 45.422.184 1,904,322 47.326.506 263.180 18,798 609.517
2005 41,780,829 1,606,540 43,387,369 279.239 30,672 567,558
2004 41,063,873 1,212,040 42.275.913 281,686 35,750 566,521
2003 36,559,949 945.318 37.505.267 276.734 48,728 510.275
2002 34,880,077 772.007 35,652,084 288,615 43,351 509.229
2001 35.261.142 831,664 36.092.806 255.645 103.059 507.736
2000 37,889,593 862.094 38,751,687 306.757 164,849 528.509
1999 37.310.478 723,539 38,034,017 306.321 161,419 500,451
1998 36.331.191 500.209 36,831,400 293,378 153.985 473,332
1997 34.576.202 393,635 34,969,837 294.296 143.008 493.314
1996 31,964,337 331.837 32.296.174 261,343 128,623 453.119

Busiest routes

Busiest national routes from Denver (2018)
rank city Passengers Airlines
01 Los Angeles , California 0.1,208,400 American , Delta , Frontier , Southwest , Spirit , United
02 Phoenix-Sky Harbor , Arizona 0.1,048,920 American, Frontier, Southwest, United
03 Chicago-O'Hare , Illinois 0.989.300 American, Frontier, Spirit, United
04th Las Vegas , Nevada 0.973.950 Frontier, Southwest, Spirit, United
05 San Francisco , California 0.940.140 Frontier, Southwest, United
06th Seattle-Tacoma , Washington 0.935.350 Alaska , Delta, Frontier, Southwest, United
07th Atlanta , Georgia 0.826.180 Delta, Frontier, Southwest, United
08th Salt Lake City , Utah 0.819,400 Delta, Frontier, Southwest, United
09 Minneapolis-Saint Paul , Minnesota 0.813.060 Delta, Frontier, Southwest, Spirit, Sun Country , United
010 Dallas / Fort Worth , Texas 0.786.620 American, Frontier, Spirit, United

Incidents

  • On September 5, 2001, there was in fueling a Boeing 777-236ER of British Airways ( air vehicle registration G-MWIC) to a fatal incident when a fuel hose broke. As a result, kerosene escaped from this in an uncontrolled manner, and kerosene vapors ignited at the same time. One of the ground crews suffered serious injuries from the subsequent fire, from which he died six days later.
  • On December 20, 2008 was Boeing 737-500 of Continental Airlines (N18611) recorded at the start of the Denver airport by a strong crosswind. The machine swerved to the left, lifting briefly from the ground and then hitting again. On impact the fuselage broke, the landing gear and the left engine were torn off. A fire broke out in the area of ​​the right engine, severely damaging the machine. There were 115 people on board, 47 of whom were injured.

Art objects at the airport

There are numerous eye-catching art objects on the grounds or in the buildings of the Denver International Airport. These include dioramas , paintings and sculptures (including grotesque beings such as gargoyles ), such as the multi-part wall painting Children of the World Dream of Peace by Leo Tanguma , which was presented in 1995, or a fiberglass statue about 10 meters high entitled Blue Mustang . The sculpture depicts a blue wild horse with red glowing eyes and is the work of the American sculptor Luis Jiménez , who was killed by one of the three parts of the sculpture in an accident. As part of the Great Hall project, some of the art objects had to be temporarily removed.

conspiracy theories

Above all, the eye-catching art objects, but also other circumstances, led to popular conspiracy theories. For example, there is a memorial plaque that indicates that a certain "New World Airport Commission" is involved in the financing of the airport. There is almost no information about this organization, and the choice of name evokes associations with the New World Order in many people . Furthermore, the aerial photo of the entire airport facility is reminiscent of a swastika or, depending on the interpretation, specifically of a swastika . The airport used the current renovation work as an opportunity to set up a series of information boards (#DENFiles) , which take up some of the theories in a humorous way, and this is also done via the official website.

See also

Movies

  • Modern castles in the air - (2): Denver Airport. Documentation, USA, Germany, 2007, 26 min., Written and directed: Andrew Davies, André Schäfer, production: ZDF

Web links

Commons : Denver International Airport  - Collection of pictures, videos, and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Denver’s Airfield. FlyDenver.com (English).
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g h Passenger Traffic Reports. FlyDenver.com, accessed February 24, 2019 .
  3. ↑ Ownership, Management & Employment. FlyDenver.com, accessed April 9, 2018 .
  4. ↑ 2017 Airport Traffic Report. PANYNJ.gov , accessed April 9, 2018 .
  5. ↑ http://www5.in.tum.de/~huckle/DIABaggage.pdf
  6. ↑ http://abcnews.go.com/Travel/airport-smiling-face/story?id=16371525
  7. ↑ https://denverite.com/2019/10/18/dias-oil-and-gas-rigs-have-sat-idle-for-a-little-over-a-year-now-but-it-might -not-always-be-that-way /
  8. ↑ https://www.worldairportawards.com/best-airports-2019-by-region/
  9. ↑ https://www.denverite.com/denver-airport-security-line-renovation-plan-40537/
  10. ↑ http://www.denverpost.com/2017/08/14/dia-terminal-partnership-faces-crucial-city-council-vote-monday-night/
  11. ↑ https://www.greathallpartners.com
  12. ↑ https://www.constructiondive.com/news/denver-airport-officials-fire-great-hall-partners/560886/
  13. ↑ https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/troubled-renovation-of-denver-international-airport-offers-lessons-for-others/2019/11/19/a8bdd7c8-fce3-11e9-ac8c-8eced29ca6ef_story .html
  14. ↑ http://www.denverpost.com/2017/11/01/dia-gate-expansion-ceo-comments/
  15. ↑ http://www.denverpost.com/2017/11/13/denver-budget-dia-gate-expansion-approved/
  16. ↑ https://www.denverpost.com/2018/05/29/denver-international-airport-gate-expansion-breaks-ground/
  17. ↑ http://www.rtd-fastracks.com/main_398
  18. ↑ Archive link ( Memento from June 5, 2016 in the Internet Archive )
  19. ↑ http://www.rtd-denver.com/Fares.shtml
  20. ↑ http://www.denverpost.com/2015/11/18/westin-denver-international-airport-hotel-to-open-thursday/
  21. ↑ http://denardis.com/specialty-structures/denver-international-airport-fabric-roof-co.html
  22. ↑ https://www.flydenver.com/sites/default/files/downloads/den_2016_financial_statement.pdf
  23. ↑ Nonstop Destinations. FlyDenver.com, accessed February 23, 2019 .
  24. ^ A b Denver, CO: Denver International (DEN). Transtats.BTS.gov , accessed April 9, 2018 .
  25. ↑ https://www.flydenver.com/sites/default/files/downloads/17-018%20Norwegian.pdf
  26. ↑ https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/flights/todayinthesky/2017/07/20/norwegian-air-fly-denver-paris-fares-start-229-one-way/494851001/
  27. ↑ http://aviationtribune.com/airlines/south-america-and-caribbean/cayman-airways-celebrates-inaugural-flight-from-cayman-to-denver/
  28. ↑ https://www.dallasnews.com/business/southwest-airlines/2019/05/31/southwest-airlines-adds-new-caribbean-flights-fall-three-texas-cities
  29. ↑ http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/local-news/direct-flights-between-denver-zurich-begin-next-summer
  30. ↑ https://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/14/opinion/why-you-cant-get-there-from-la-guardia.html
  31. ↑ http://www.flyreagan.com/dca/dca-high-density-slot-rule-and-perimeter-rule
  32. ↑ http://www.denverpost.com/2014/08/19/lease-deal-keeps-united-at-dia-through-2035-but-will-up-airport-interest-costs/
  33. ↑ Destinations by Airline. FlyDenver.com, accessed April 9, 2018 .
  34. ↑ accident report B-777-236ER G-MWIC , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on February 23 of 2019.
  35. ↑ Accident report B-737-500 N18611 , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on February 25, 2019.
  36. ↑ a b Kieran Nicholson: A new conspiracy? Why is artwork flying off the walls at Denver International Airport? The Denver Post, June 19, 2018, accessed November 2, 2019 .
  37. ^ A b c Sophie-Claire Hoeller: THE DARKEST CONSPIRACY THEORIES ABOUT DENVER'S BIZARRE AIRPORT. INDEPENDENT, June 26, 2017, accessed November 2, 2019 .
  38. ↑ https://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/15/arts/design/15jimenez.html
  39. ^ A b Doug Zanger: This Denver Agency Leaned Into Wild Conspiracy Theories During Airport Construction. Adweek, February 28, 2019, accessed on November 2, 2019 .
  40. ↑ Oliver Smith: The airport that launched a thousand conspiracy theories. The Telegraph, February 28, 2015, accessed November 2, 2019 .
  41. ↑ Denver International Airport: DEN Files. flydenver.com, accessed November 2, 2019 .