Denver International Airport is a major international airport located in northeastern Denver, Colorado. It ranks among the top 10 busiest airports in the United States and is the largest airport in area in the country. It is a major hub for United Airlines and the operations base of United's low-cost subsidiary Ted. Frontier Airlines, one of the fastest growing discount airlines in the US also uses Denver as their main hub. The airport uses DEN as is its IATA airport code and KDEN as its ICAO airport code.

Contents

1 History 2 Concourses 2.1 Concourse A 2.2 Concourse B 2.3 Concourse C 3 Transportation To & From DIA 4 External links

History

DIA replaced the old Stapleton International Airport in 1995, making it one of the youngest major airports in the US. It was built by the initiative of Denver mayor Federico Peña, but its construction ran into many problems. The main problem, at first, was that the airport's state-of-the-art automated baggage handling system was prone to failure, throwing suitcases all over the basement of the main terminal. Even though the airport was scheduled to open in 1993, its opening had to be pushed back in order to fix all the malfunctioning systems, and Continental Airlines, which had initially planned to establish a hub at the new airport, backed out. It was decided United Airlines would have the hub.

After the airport's runways were done, but before it opened, the airport used the IATA code DVX, then later assumed DEN and KDEN from Stapleton when it closed.

Nowadays, the main complaint about the airport is its distant location from the city center, necessary to accommodate the airport's vast size (137km²). The airport also charges high landing fees to airlines in order to offset its hefty construction costs. Tickets to and from Denver are very expensive, lessening its appeal as a cross-country hub. Some travelers drive to Colorado Springs Airport for access to cheaper flights.

During a major blizzard in 2003, the heavy snow tore a hole in the one of the terminal's characteristic white fabric roofs, which were designed to be reminiscent of the snow-capped Rocky Mountains in winter.

Concourses

DIA has three midfield concourses. They are spaced far apart, and if the inter-terminal people mover system breaks down, it becomes difficult for passengers to board their flights on time, which has only happened once since the airport has been opened. The basic layout is very similar to Atlanta's airport, except that departures and arrivals are on different levels of the terminals.

Concourse A

• British Airways (London Heathrow)
• Continental Airlines (Cleveland, Houston Bush, Newark)
• Frontier Airlines (Albuquerque, Anchorage, Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore/Washington, Boise, Cancun, Chicago O'Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth, El Paso, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Houston Hobby, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Mazatlan, McCook, Milwaukee, Minneapolis/St. Paul, New Orleans, New York La Guardia, Oklahoma City, Omaha, Ontario, Orlando, Phoenix, Portland, Puerto Vallarta, Reno, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, San Jose del Cabo, Santa Ana, Santa Barbara, St. Louis, Tampa, Tucson)
• Great Lakes Aviation dba United Express (Alamosa, Alliance/Chadron, Amarillo, Cheyenne, Cortez, Dickinson, Farmington, Garden City, Gillette, Grand Island, Grand Junction, Hays, Kearney, Laramie, Liberal, North Platte, Pierre, Pueblo, Rapid City, Riverton, Rock Springs, Santa Fe, Scottsbluff, Seattle/Tacoma, Sheridan, Telluride, Washington National)
• JetBlue (Boston, New York JFK)
• Lufthansa (Frankfurt)
• Mexicana (Mexico City)
• Ted (Fort Lauderdale, Las Vegas, New Orleans, Ontario, Orlando, Phoenix, Reno, Tampa)
• United Airlines (Albuquerque, Anchorage, Aspen, Austin, Baltimore/Washington, Billings, Birmingham, Bismarck, Boise, Boston, Burbank, Calgary, Casper, Cedar Rapids, Charlotte, Chicago O'Hare, Colorado Springs, Columbus, Dallas/Fort Worth, Des Moines, Detroit, Durango, Edmonton, El Paso, Eugene, Fargo, Fresno, Gunnison, Hayden, Honolulu, Houston Bush, Indianapolis, Jackson Hole, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Lincoln, Los Angeles, Madison, Medford, Memphis, Miami, Milwaukee, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Missoula, Moline, Montrose, Nashville, Newark, New Orleans, New York JFK, New York La Guardia, Oakland, Oklahoma City, Omaha, Ontario, Orlando, Palm Springs, Pasco, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Portland, Raleigh/Durham, Reno, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, Santa Ana, Santa Barbara, Seattle/Tacoma, Sioux Falls, Spokane, Springfield, St. Louis, Tampa, Toronto, Tucson, Tulsa, Vail/Eagle, Washington Dulles, Wichita, Winnipeg)

Concourse B

• Air Canada (Toronto)
• Mesa Airlines dba United Express
• Skywest dba United Express
• United Airlines

Concourse C

• AirTran (Atlanta)
• Alaska Airlines (Anchorage, Portland, Seattle/Tacoma)
• America West Airlines (Las Vegas, Phoenix)
• American Airlines (Chicago O'Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth, Los Angeles, Miami, St. Louis)
• American Trans Air (Chicago Midway)
• Delta Air Lines (Atlanta, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Dallas/Fort Worth, Salt Lake City)
• Midwest Airlines (Milwaukee)
• Northwest Airlines (Detroit, Los Angeles, Memphis, Minneapolis/St. Paul)
• US Airways (Charlotte, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh)

Transportation To & From DIA

By 2025, the Airport will be the East Corridor endpoint for the FasTracks commuter rail network. Until then, those seeking transportation should visit the appropriate section of the Airport website http://www.flydenver.com/gt/index.asp

External links

• Denver International Airport homepage http://www.flydenver.com