Denver International Airport |
Denver International Airport (DIA) is a major international airport located in northeastern Denver, Colorado, Colorado. It ranks among the World s busiest airports by passenger traffic and is the largest airport by area in the United States.
The airport s distinctive white fabric roof is designed to be reminiscent of the snow-capped Rocky Mountains in winter. It is also known for a pedestrian bridge connecting the terminal to Concourse A that offers a unique view of planes taxiing directly underneath.
DIA is a major Airline hub for United Airlines and the operations base of United s low-cost subsidiary Ted (airline). Frontier Airlines also uses Denver as their main hub.
The airport is much farther from downtown Denver than Stapleton International Airport, the airport it replaced. The distant location was chosen to avoid noise impacts to developed areas, to accommodate a generous runway layout that would not be compromised by winter storms, and to allow for future expansion. The land occupied by the airport actually has twice the land area of Manhattan, and was transferred from Adams County, Colorado to Denver after a 1989 vote, instantly increasing the city s size by about half. However, much of the city of Aurora, Colorado is actually closer to the airport than the developed portions of Denver, and all freeway traffic accessing the airport from Denver passes through Aurora.
=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 [http://www.flydenver.com/gt/index.asp section of the Airport website]
=Automated baggage system=
The airport s computerized baggage system, which was supposed to reduce flight delays, shorten waiting times at luggage carousels, and save airlines in labor costs, turned into an unmitigated failure. An opening originally scheduled for October 31, 1993 with a single system for all three concourses turned into a February 28, 1995 opening with separate systems for each concourse, with varying degrees of automation.
The system s $186 million in original construction costs grew by $1 million per day during months of modifications and repairs. Incoming flights never made use of the system, and only United, DIA s dominant airline, used it for outgoing flights. The 40-year-old company responsible for the design of the automated system (BAE Automated Systems of Carrollton, Texas), at one time responsible for 90% of the baggage systems in the U.S., was acquired in 2003.
The system never worked well, and in August 2005, it became public knowledge that United would abandon the system, a decision that would save them $1 million in monthly maintenance costs.
=Trivia=
*After the airport s runways were done, but before it opened, the airport used the IATA code DVX, then later took over DEN and KDEN from Stapleton when the latter airport closed.
=History=
In September 1989, under the leadership of List of mayors of Denver Federico Peña, federal officials authorized the outlay of the first $60 million for the construction of DIA. Two month later, Mayor Wellington Webb inherited the project, scheduled to open on October 29, 1993.
Delays caused by poor planning and repeated design changes due to changing requirements from United cause Mayor Webb to push opening day out, first to December 1993, then to March 1994. By September 1993, delays due to a millwright strike and other events meant opening day was pushed out again, to May 15, 1994.
In April 1994, the city invited reporters to observe the first test of the new baggage system. Reporters were treated to scenes of clothing and other personal effects scattered beneath the system s tracks, while the acutators that moved luggage from belt to belt would often toss the luggage right off the system instead. The mayor cancelled the planned May 15 opening. The bagagge system continued to be a maintenance hassle and was finally terminated in September 2005 [http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/27/national/27denver.htmlex=1282795200&en=55c1a4d8ddb7988a&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss], with traditional baggage handlers manually handling cargo and passenger luggage.
DIA finally replaced Stapleton in 1995, 16 months behind schedule and at a cost of $5.2 billion, nearly $2 billion over budget. The delays prompted Continental Airlines, which had a hub at Stapleton, to back out of its plans to establish one at DIA.
During a major blizzard in 2003, the heavy snow tore a hole in the terminal s white fabric roof.
In 2004, DIA was ranked first in major airports for on time arrivals according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
DEN s sixth runway (16R/34L) is the longest commercial precision-instrument runway in North America with a length of 16,000 feet. Compared to other DEN runways, the extra 4,000-foot length will allow fully loaded jumbo jets to take off in Denver s mile-high altitude during summer months, thereby providing unrestricted global access for any airline using DEN. The sixth runway can also accommodate the new generation of massive airliners, including the Airbus A380.
=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 New World Order base on site.
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 (see satellite map via [http://maps.google.com/mapsq=denver+international+airport&ll=39.858891,-104.673271&spn=0.135698,0.370514&t=k&hl=en Google Local]). In addition, a time capsule in the airport features a conspicuous Freemason logo. The airport also features murals whose imagery some have found disturbing, such as one depicting a soldier clad in a gas mask firing an automatic weapon towards the viewer. Some of these murals have been painted over after complaints about their nature emerged.
=Concourses and Airlines=
Denver International Airport has three midfield concourses, spaced far apart. Passengers must utilize an underground train system for access.
The concourses and main terminal are laid out similar to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, except that DEN has no T gates directly attached to the terminal and departures are on a different level of the terminal than arrivals.
The airport charges high landing fees to airlines in order to offset its hefty construction costs. These fees have led to increased competition from Colorado Springs Airport.
On Thursday, October 20, 2005 Southwest Airlines announced that they would begin to offer service from DIA beginning in 2006.
==Concourse A==
==Concourse B (United)==
==Concourse C==
=External links=
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