Denver International Airport
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Denver_International_Airport_terminal.jpg
Denver International Airport Template:Airport codes 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 U.S., also uses Denver as their main hub.
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History
DIA replaced the old Stapleton International Airport in 1995, making it one of the youngest major airports in the U.S. 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 (137 km²/53 mi², or twice the land area of Manhattan). 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.
In 2005, United announced that it would abandon the automated baggage system, estimating that it would save $1 million in monthly maintenance costs.
Conspiracy Theories
Upon completion, Denver International Airport was almost immediately made the subject of many different conspiracy theories, which primarily alleged that there is some sort of underground secret base under the airport.
One of the main reasons for the theories was due to the shape of the airport, which is alleged to allude to a Nazi swastika or the symbol of the process church. In addition, a time capsule in the airport features a conspicous Freemason logo. The airport also features murals whose imagery some have found disturbing, some of which already have been painted over.
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 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 Gate A37 (London/Heathrow)
- Continental Airlines Gates A45, A47, and A49 (Cleveland, Houston/Intercontinental, and Newark)
- Frontier Airlines Gates A24-A32, A34, A36, A38, A39, A51-A53, and A58-A68 (Akron/Canton, Albuquerque, Anchorage, Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore/Washington, Boise, Cancun, Chicago/O'Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth, Detroit, El Paso, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Houston/Bush Intercontinental, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Mazatlan, McCook, Milwaukee, Minneapolis/St. Paul, New Orleans, New York/LaGuardia, Oklahoma City, Omaha, Ontario, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Portland, Puerto Vallarta, Reno, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, San Jose del Cabo, Santa Ana, St. Louis,Seattle/Tacoma, Tampa, Tucson, Washington DC/Reagan National)
- Great Lakes Aviation Gates A58-A68 (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, and Telluride)
- Hooters Air Gate A35
- Horizon Air dba Frontier JetExpress Gates A58-A68 (Albuquerque, Austin, Boise, Billings, El Paso, Little Rock, Oklahoma City, Omaha, San Jose, Spokane, Tucson, and Tulsa)
- JetBlue Gates A33 and A35 (Boston and New York/Kennedy)
- Lufthansa Gates A41 and A43 (Frankfurt)
- Mexicana Gates A41 and A43(Mexico City)
- Ted Gates A40, A42, A44, A46, A48, A50, and A52 (Cancun [starts Nov. 7], Fort Lauderdale, Las Vegas, Miami [starts Sept. 7], New Orleans, Ontario, Orlando, Phoenix, Puerto Vallarta, Reno, and Tampa)
Concourse B
Denver_International_Airport,_Concourse_B.jpg
- Air Canada Gate B53 (Toronto)
- Air Wisconsin dba United Express Gates B54-58, B59 A-L, B60, B61, and B61 A-K (Aspen, Cedar Rapids, Des Moines, Eagle, Hayden, Kansas City, Madison, Milwaukee, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Oklahoma City, Sioux Falls, Springfield, Tulsa, and Wichita)
- Chautauqua Airlines dba United Express Gates B54-58, B59 A-L, B61, and B61 A-K (Dallas/Fort Worth)
- Mesa Airlines dba United Express Gates B54-B58, B59 A-L, B60, B61, and B61 A-K (Aspen, Atlanta, Austin, Cape Cod, Cedar Rapids, Charlotte, Colorado Springs, Des Moines, Durango, Eagle, Fargo, Grand Junction, Gunnison, Hayden, Jackson Hole, Nashville, Rapid City, Sioux Falls, St. Louis, and Tucson)
- Skywest dba United Express Gates B54-B58, B59 A-L, B60, B61, and B61 A-K (Albuquerque, Austin, Birmingham, Billings, Bismarck, Boise, Bozeman, Burbank, Calgary, Casper, Cleveland, Colorado Springs, Columbus, Detroit, Durango, Edmonton, El Paso, Eugene, Fayetteville/Springdale, Fresno, Grand Junction, Houston/Intercontinental, Indianapolis, Medford, Memphis, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Missoula, Moline, Montrose, Oklahoma City, Palm Springs, Pasco, Rapid City, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, Santa Barbara, Springfield, St. Louis, Tucson, Tulsa, Wichita, and Winnepeg)
- United Airlines Gates B15-B39, B41-B52, B55, and B57 (Albuquerque, Anchorage, Aspen, Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore/Washington, Billings, Boise, Boston, Burbank, Calgary, Cancun, Charlotte, Chicago/O'Hare, Colorado Springs, Columbus, Dallas/Fort Worth, Des Moines, Detroit, Durango, Eagle, Hayden, Honolulu, Houston/Intercontinental, Indianapolis, Jackson Hole, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Newark, New York/LaGuardia, Oakland, Oklahoma City, Omaha, Orange County (Santa Ana), Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Portland, Raleigh/Durham, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, Seattle/Tacoma, Sioux Falls, Spokane, St. Louis, Toronto, Tucson, Tulsa, Vancouver, Washington/Dulles, Washington/Reagan, and Wichita)
Concourse C
- AirTran Airways Gate C41 (Atlanta)
- Alaska Airlines Gate C32 (Anchorage, Portland, and Seattle/Tacoma)
- America West Airlines Gates C30 and C31 (Las Vegas and Phoenix)
- American Airlines Gates C35, C37, and C39 (Chicago/O'Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth, Los Angeles, and Miami)
- Chautauqua Airlines dba American Connection Gates C35, C37, and C39 (St. Louis)
- Trans States Airlines dba American Connection Gates C35, C37, and C39 (St. Louis)
- ATA Airlines Gate C49 (Chicago/Midway)
- Delta Air Lines Gates C40, C42, C44, and C46 (Atlanta, Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky (Covington, KY), and Salt Lake City)
- Horizon Air Gate C32
- Midwest Airlines Gate C47 (Milwaukee)
- Northwest Airlines Gates C34, C36, and C48 (Detroit and Minneapolis/St. Paul)
- US Airways Gates C43 and C45 (Charlotte, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh)
Transportation to and 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)
- A conspiratorial view of the murals at anomalies-unlimited.com (http://www.anomalies-unlimited.com/Denver_Airport.html)
- Google Maps (http://maps.google.com/maps?q=DEN&ll=39.860802,-104.673271&spn=0.081539,0.126686&t=k&hl=en)de:Denver International Airport