Reporters were treated to scenes of clothing and other personal effects scattered beneath the system's tracks and carts that would often toss the luggage right off the system. In April 1994, the city invited reporters to observe the first test of the new automated baggage system. By September 1993, delays due to a millwright strike and other events meant opening day was pushed back again, to May 1994. Ĭonstruction delays pushed opening day back, first to December 1993, then to March 1994. The airline finally relented under the condition that the airport include an automated baggage system. At the time United was refusing to move to the new airport over the high proposed fees. Two years later, Mayor Wellington Webb inherited the megaproject, which at that time was scheduled to open on October 29, 1993. The rest of the cost would be financed by bonds, to be repaid with fees on airlines. But seeing the importance of a Denver air hub to the national transportation system, the federal government put $500 million (equivalent to $1 billion as of 2021 ) toward the new airport. The proposal was met with some skepticism because of its location: 24 miles (39 km) from the heart of the city. In 1988, Adams County voters approved the annexation. Įventually Peña struck a deal: Adams County leaders would rally citizens to back a plan for Denver to annex 54 square miles (140 km 2) of the county to build an airport away from established neighborhoods. The plan had broad support, but leaders in nearby Adams County threatened to sue over noise concerns. Meanwhile, in 1983, Federico Peña was elected mayor of Denver, campaigning on a plan to expand Stapleton onto Rocky Mountain Arsenal lands. įrom 1980 to 1983, the Denver Regional Council of Governments investigated areas for a new area airport north and east of Denver. But Stapleton was cramped, with little room to add additional flights and with runways too close together, leading to long waits in bad weather that would cause nationwide travel disruptions. Several airlines, notably United Airlines and Continental Airlines, were hubbed at the former Stapleton International Airport, helping make it the sixth-busiest airport in the country by the 1960s. History ĭenver has traditionally been home to one of the busier airports in the United States because its midcontinent location was ideal for an airline hub. In both 20, DEN was the third busiest airport in the world as well as the third busiest airport in the United States by passenger traffic DEN has been among the top 20 busiest airports in the world every year since 2000. The airport is located on the western edge of the Great Plains and within sight of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. With over 35,000 employees, the airport is the largest employer in Colorado. The airport is a major hub for United Airlines and is the largest operating base for both Frontier Airlines and Southwest Airlines. Opened in 1995, DEN currently serves 25 different airlines offering non-stop service to over 215 destinations throughout the Americas, Europe, and Asia it was the fourth airport in the U.S. The airport is 25 miles (40 km) driving distance from Downtown Denver, 19 miles (31 km) farther than the former Stapleton International Airport, the facility DEN replaced: the airport land was originally part of Adams County until the construction of the airport in 1995, and is actually located in between Commerce City and Aurora with the southwest side connecting strip of neighborhoods (on the route of Peña Blvd) being the only connection with the rest of the city of Denver: many airport-related services, such as hotels, are located in Aurora. Runway 16R/34L, with a length of 16,000 feet (3.03 mi 4.88 km), is the longest public use runway in North America and the seventh longest on Earth. At 33,531 acres (52.4 sq mi 135.7 km 2), it is the largest airport in the Western Hemisphere by land area and the second largest on Earth, behind King Fahd International Airport. Denver International Airport ( IATA: DEN, ICAO: KDEN, FAA LID: DEN), locally known as DIA, is an international airport in the Western United States, primarily serving metropolitan Denver, Colorado, as well as the greater Front Range Urban Corridor.
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