About the airport

Denver International Airport (IATA: DEN, ICAO: KDEN, FAA LID: DEN), often called DIA, is, by land size, the largest international airport in the United States, and the third largest international airport in the world, after only King Fahd International Airport[1], and Montréal-Mirabel International Airport. Runway 16R/34L is also the longest public use runway in the United States.

Currently, Denver International Airport is the fourth busiest airport in the United States in terms of traffic, and the ninth in the world with 47,324,844 passengers passing through the airport in 2006; a 9.1% increase over 2005.

The airport is located in far northeastern Denver, Colorado in Denver County, Colorado. Operated by the City and County of Denver, in 2006 it served almost 50,000,000 passengers. Denver is also the busiest and largest airport in the US without any non-stop service to and from Asia. DIA was voted the 2005 Best Airport in North America by readers of Business Traveler Magazine and was named America's best run Airport by Time Magazine in 2002.


History

In September 1989, under the leadership of Denver mayor Federico Peña, federal officials authorized the outlay of the first $60 million for the construction of DIA. Two years 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 Airlines caused Mayor Webb to push opening day back, 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 back again, to May 15, 1994. This earned the airport the tongue-in-cheek nicknames "Done In April," "Done In August," "Delayed Indefinitely Airport," "Democrats in Action," or "Denver's Imaginary Airport" using the DIA initials.

In April 1994, the city invited reporters to observe the first test of the new automated baggage system. Reporters were treated to scenes of clothing and other personal effects scattered beneath the system's tracks, while the actuators 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 baggage system continued to be a maintenance hassle and was finally terminated in September 2005, with traditional baggage handlers manually handling cargo and passenger luggage.

On September 25, 1994, the airport hosted a fly-in that drew several hundred general aviation aircraft, providing pilots with a unique opportunity to operate in and out of the new airport, and to wander around on foot looking at the ground-side facilities—including the baggage system, which was still under testing. FAA controllers also took advantage of the event to test procedures, and to check for holes in radio coverage as planes taxied around and among the buildings.

DIA finally replaced Stapleton on February 28, 1995, 16 months behind schedule and at a cost of $5.2 billion, nearly $2 billion over budget.

After the airport's runways were completed but before it opened, the airport used the codes (IATA: DVX, ICAO: KDVX). DIA later took over (IATA: DEN, ICAO: KDEN) as its codes from Stapleton when the latter airport closed.

During the blizzard of March 17-19, 2003, heavy snow tore a hole in the terminal's white fabric roof. Over two feet of snow on the paved areas closed the airport (and its main access road, Peña Boulevard) for almost two days. Several thousand people were stranded at DIA.

In 2004, DIA was ranked first in major airports for on-time arrivals according to the FAA.
Denver International Airport covered by the December 22, 2006 snowstorm
Denver International Airport covered by the December 22, 2006 snowstorm

Another blizzard on December 20th and 21st, 2006 dumped over 20 inches of snow in about 24 hours. The airport was closed for more than 45 hours, stranding thousands.

On February 16, 2007, in a mysterious incident, 14 aircraft suffered windshield failures within a three-and-a-half-hour period at the airport. A total of 22 windshields on these aircraft failed. The NTSB opened an investigation, saying it hoped to determine a cause by the end of the week.