An IATA airport code , also known as an IATA location identifier , IATA station code , or simply a location identifier , is a three-letter geocode designating many airports and metropolitan areas around the world, defined by the International Air Transport Association (IATA). The characters prominently displayed on baggage tags attached at airport check-in desks are an example of a way these codes are used.
81-606: Denver International Airport ( IATA : DEN , ICAO : KDEN , FAA LID : DEN ) is an international airport in the Western United States , primarily serving metropolitan Denver , Colorado , as well as the greater Front Range Urban Corridor . At 33,531 acres (52.4 sq mi; 135.7 km), it is the largest airport in the Western Hemisphere by land area and the second largest on Earth, behind King Fahd International Airport . Runway 16R/34L, with
162-502: A 1989 vote, increasing the city's size by 50 percent and bifurcating the western portion of the neighboring county. All freeway traffic accessing the airport from central Denver leaves the city and passes through Aurora for nearly two miles (3.2 km), making the airport a practical exclave . Similarly, the A Line rail service connecting the airport with downtown Denver has two intervening stations in Aurora. DEN has one terminal, named
243-405: A deal: Adams County leaders would rally citizens to back a plan for Denver to annex 54 square miles (140 km) of the county to build an airport away from established neighborhoods. In 1988, Adams County voters approved the annexation. The proposal was met with some skepticism because of its location: 24 miles (39 km) from the heart of the city. But seeing the importance of a Denver air hub to
324-544: A deceit, a contrivance." The airport suggests that cyclists who prefer a less-traveled route may use 56th Avenue to Valleyhead Road, a rural 55-mph highway with no shoulder. Conspiracies concerning the airport, inspired by the type of art, unusual architecture, and construction problems, started shortly after its completion. With the expansion of the internet, television shows such as Conspiracy Theory with Jesse Ventura , and annual media reporting of these theories, they continued to grow. Airport administration decided to embrace
405-524: A further 100 gates. The Jeppesen Terminal's internationally recognized peaked roof, designed by Fentress Bradburn Architects , resembles snow-capped mountains and evokes the early history of Colorado when Native American teepees were located across the Great Plains . The catenary steel cable system, similar to the Brooklyn Bridge design, supports the fabric roof . DEN is also known for
486-600: A gain of four gates for Frontier. In December 2023 DEN started construction on a new 'Center of Equity and Excellence in Aviation' which will help underserved communities and prepare current and future employees for a career in aviation. The CEEA will be located directly below the Westin Hotel and DEN Plaza and is expected to open in late 2024 or early 2025. In late 2023, the airport laid out preliminary plans to add four new concourses with 100 more gates east and west of
567-709: 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. The airport is 25 miles (40 km) driving distance northeast of Downtown Denver , 19 miles (31 km) farther than the former Stapleton International Airport which DEN replaced; the airport is actually closer to the City of Aurora than central Denver, and many airport-related services, such as hotels, are located in Aurora. Opened in 1995, DEN currently serves 25 different airlines offering non-stop service to over 215 destinations throughout
648-708: A long record of poor delivery". Megaprojects attract significant public attention because of substantial impacts on communities , environment , and budgets , and the high costs involved. Megaprojects can also be defined as "initiatives that are physical, very expensive, and public". Megaprojects include special economic zones , public buildings , power plants , dams , airports , hospitals , seaports , bridges , highways , tunnels , railways , wastewater projects, oil and natural gas extraction projects, aerospace projects, weapons systems , information technology systems, large-scale sporting events and, more recently, mixed use waterfront redevelopments; however,
729-613: A new United Club in A and expand their existing clubs in B. Southwest Airlines leased 16 of the new gates in C bringing its total gate count at DEN to 40, which is SWA's largest gate count at any single airport. As of November 2022, all new gates in A-West, B-West, B-East and C-East are in use and new retail and restaurant tenants will continue to open through 2024 as well as new art commissioned and installed through 2025. Additionally, all existing way-finding signs, flight information display systems and gate signs are expected to be replaced in
810-567: A new airport is built, replacing the old one, leaving the city's new "major" airport (or the only remaining airport) code to no longer correspond with the city's name. The original airport in Nashville, Tennessee, was built in 1936 as part of the Works Progress Administration and called Berry Field with the designation, BNA. A new facility known as Nashville International Airport was built in 1987 but still uses BNA. This
891-571: A number of techno-socio-economic and organizational challenges. The OFCCP Mega Construction Project (Megaproject) Program involves projects valued at over $ 35 million. Megaprojects are often affected by corruption, leading to higher cost and lower benefit. According to the European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST), megaprojects are characterized both by "extreme complexity (both in technical and human terms) and by
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#1732773234252972-540: A pedestrian bridge connecting the terminal to Concourse A that allows travelers to walk from the main Terminal to Concourse A, while viewing planes taxiing beneath them. It offers views of the Rocky Mountains to the west and the high plains to the east. Denver's public art program, which is financed by a mandatory 1% capital improvement budget, has resulted in a significant number of artworks being installed at
1053-449: Is "Megaprojects are temporary endeavours (i.e. projects) characterised by: large investment commitment, vast complexity (especially in organisational terms), and long-lasting impact on the economy, the environment, and society". Megaprojects refer not only to construction projects but also decommissioning projects, which are projects that can reach multi-billion budgets, and have a high level of innovation and complexity, and are affected by
1134-509: Is GSN and its IATA code is SPN, and some coincide with IATA codes of non-U.S. airports. Canada's unusual codes—which bear little to no similarity with any conventional abbreviation to the city's name—such as YUL in Montréal , and YYZ in Toronto , originated from the two-letter codes used to identify weather reporting stations in the 1930s. The letters preceding the two-letter code follow
1215-536: Is also available to points such as Fort Collins , and van services stretch into Nebraska , Wyoming , and Colorado summer and ski resort areas. Amtrak offers a Fly-Rail plan for ticketing with United Airlines for trips into scenic areas in the Western U.S. via a Denver stopover. The airport is connected to I-70 and Denver via the Peña Boulevard freeway. A number of car rental companies are located at
1296-617: Is available. However, many railway administrations have their own list of codes for their stations, such as the list of Amtrak station codes . Airport codes arose out of the convenience that the practice brought pilots for location identification in the 1930s. Initially, pilots in the United States used the two-letter code from the National Weather Service (NWS) for identifying cities. This system became unmanageable for cities and towns without an NWS identifier, and
1377-542: Is collective benefits; for example electricity for everybody (who can pay), road access (for those that have cars), etc. They may also serve as a means to open frontiers. Megaprojects have been criticised for their top-down planning processes and their ill effects on certain communities. Large scale projects often advantage one group of people while disadvantaging another, for instance, the Three Gorges Dam in China,
1458-523: Is different from the name in English, yet the airport code represents only the English name. Examples include: Due to scarcity of codes, some airports are given codes with letters not found in their names: The use of 'X' as a filler letter is a practice to create three-letter identifiers when more straightforward options were unavailable: Some airports in the United States retained their NWS ( National Weather Service ) codes and simply appended an X at
1539-513: Is in conjunction to rules aimed to avoid confusion that seem to apply in the United States, which state that "the first and second letters or second and third letters of an identifier may not be duplicated with less than 200 nautical miles separation." Thus, Washington, D.C. area's three airports all have radically different codes: IAD for Washington–Dulles , DCA for Washington–Reagan (District of Columbia Airport), and BWI for Baltimore (Baltimore–Washington International, formerly BAL). Since HOU
1620-543: Is not followed outside the United States: In addition, since three letter codes starting with Q are widely used in radio communication, cities whose name begins with "Q" also had to find alternate codes, as in the case of: IATA codes should not be confused with the FAA identifiers of U.S. airports. Most FAA identifiers agree with the corresponding IATA codes, but some do not, such as Saipan , whose FAA identifier
1701-787: Is often expressed by critics of megaprojects during the planning phase. If the megaproject is delivered in a country with relevant corruption the likelihood and magnitude of having overbudgets increases. One of the most challenging aspects of megaprojects is obtaining sufficient funding. Alan Altshuler and David Luberoff have found that creative and politically adept political leadership is required to secure resources as well as generate public support, mollify critics, and manage conflict through many years of planning, authorization and implementation. Other challenges faced by those planning megaprojects include laws and regulations that empower community groups, contested information and methodologies, high levels of uncertainty, avoiding impacts on neighborhoods and
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#17327732342521782-416: Is used for William P. Hobby Airport , the new Houston–Intercontinental became IAH. The code BKK was originally assigned to Bangkok–Don Mueang and was later transferred to Suvarnabhumi Airport , while the former adopted DMK. The code ISK was originally assigned to Gandhinagar Airport (Nashik's old airport) and later on transferred to Ozar Airport (Nashik's current airport). Shanghai–Hongqiao retained
1863-485: The A Line rail service between DEN and Denver Union Station in downtown Denver , making the 37 minute trip about every 15 minutes. RTD also operates an airport express bus service called skyRide between Arapahoe County or Boulder and DEN. There is also hourly service to Thornton on RTD route 104L, a limited stop bus. The airport is also served by two commuter routes with just a few runs per day: RTD route 145X to Brighton and 169L to Aurora . Scheduled bus service
1944-571: The Canadian transcontinental railroads were built, each station was assigned its own two-letter Morse code : When the Canadian government established airports, it used the existing railway codes for them as well. If the airport had a weather station, authorities added a "Y" to the front of the code, meaning "Yes" to indicate it had a weather station or some other letter to indicate it did not. When international codes were created in cooperation with
2025-472: The Rocky Mountains . In both 2021 and 2022, DEN was the third busiest airport in the world as well as the third busiest airport in the United States by passenger traffic. In 2023, it was the sixth busiest airport in the world and remained the third busiest airport in the United States having served around 77.8 million passengers, more than a 12% increase from the prior year. DEN has been among
2106-507: The hot and high conditions at the airport, which is roughly 1 mi (1.6 km) above sea level. During a blizzard on March 17–19, 2003, the weight of heavy snow tore a hole in the terminal's white fabric roof, and over 2 feet (0.61 m) of snow on paved areas closed the airport and its main access road ( Peña Boulevard ) for almost two days, stranding several thousand people. Another blizzard on December 20–21, 2006, dumped over 20 inches (51 cm) of snow in about 24 hours. The airport
2187-716: The 1960s. However, Stapleton had little room to add more flights and its runways were too close together, which led to long delays and nationwide travel disruptions in bad weather. From 1980 to 1983, the Denver Regional Council of Governments investigated areas for a new area airport north and east of Denver. Meanwhile, in 1983, Federico Peña was elected mayor of Denver, campaigning on a plan to expand Stapleton onto Rocky Mountain Arsenal lands. The plan had broad support, but leaders in nearby Adams County threatened to sue over noise concerns. Eventually Peña struck
2268-620: The A-Bridge Security. This phased terminal project is expected to be completed by 2028. Additionally in 2018, work commenced on a major gate expansion to all three concourses with 12 new gates being added to A (including several single and double-jetway gates with direct access to U.S. Customs and Border Protection ), 11 to B, and 16 to C, for a total of 39 new gates. Following the completion of this project, United Airlines has leased 24 additional gates on both A and B (bringing its total gate count at DEN to around 90), as well as build
2349-586: The Americas, Europe, and Asia; it was the fourth airport in the U.S. to exceed 200 destinations. The airport is a major hub for United Airlines and the largest operating base for both Frontier Airlines and Southwest Airlines . With over 40,000 employees, the airport is the largest employer in Colorado. The airport is located on the western edge of the Great Plains and within sight of the Front Range of
2430-547: The Concourse A bridge is expected to be removed once the new Level 6 security areas are completed. The renovation and reconfiguration will bring back the original intent and use of the Great Hall as a large commons area for airport patrons and visitors to enjoy. First phases of completion—including updated check-in and baggage drop counters for United & Southwest Airlines as well as visual and facility updates to parts of
2511-505: The Jeppesen Terminal after aviation safety pioneer Elrey Borge Jeppesen , and three midfield concourses, spaced far apart. The three midfield concourses have a total of 179 gates in operation as of late 2022. Concourse A is accessible via a pedestrian bridge directly from the terminal building, as well as via the underground train system that services all three concourses. For access to Concourses B and C, passengers must utilize
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2592-537: The U.S. For example, several airports in Alaska have scheduled commercial service, such as Stebbins and Nanwalek , which use FAA codes instead of ICAO codes. Thus, neither system completely includes all airports with scheduled service. Some airports are identified in colloquial speech by their IATA code. Examples include LAX and JFK . Megaproject A megaproject is an extremely large-scale construction and investment project . A more general definition
2673-420: The United States and Germany prevented developments due to environmental and social concerns. More recently, new types of megaprojects have been identified that no longer follow the old models of being singular and monolithic in their purposes, but have become quite flexible and diverse, such as waterfront redevelopment schemes that seem to offer something to everybody. However, just like the old megaprojects,
2754-481: The United States, because "Y" was seldom used in the United States, Canada simply used the weather station codes for its airports, changing the "Y" to a "Z" if it conflicted with an airport code already in use. The result is that most major Canadian airport codes start with "Y" followed by two letters in the city's name (for example, YOW for O tta w a , YWG for W innipe g , YYC for C algar y , or YVR for V ancouve r ), whereas other Canadian airports append
2835-530: The World Dream of Peace" is a powerful mural expressing the artist's desire to abolish violence in society. One section of the piece speaks to the tragedy and devastation of war and its impact on humanity. The mural then moves on to images of smiling children, dressed in traditional folk costumes from around the world, celebrating peace prevailing over war. "In Peace and Harmony With Nature" is also in two parts; Denver Public Art explains that: The first half of
2916-540: The World Dream of Peace" is in two-parts. The first depicts the horrors of war, with a man in a gas-mask brandishing a saber. The second, larger part shows this man toppled, and smiling children from many nations making swords into plowshares ; Tanguma explains this is a reference to the Book of Isaiah 2:4 : ...and they shall beat their swords into plowshares—nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. Per Denver Public Art: "Children of
2997-569: The agreement, they would work together to enhance industry best practices that involve commerce, trade and tourism. It also includes a clause that they would share strategies for extraterrestrial combat. For the airport's 20th birthday, plans to decorate the airport property with crop circles proved to be too expensive, so they were not implemented. In a marketing campaign that was tied to renovations started in 2018, posters were created with aliens joking that breeding grounds for gargoyles or meeting halls for Freemasons were being constructed. The campaign
3078-466: The airport is more than one and a half times the size of Manhattan (including water) (33.6 square miles or 87 square kilometres). DEN is larger in land area (excluding water) than the US cities of Boston, Massachusetts and San Francisco, California . DEN occupies the largest amount of commercial airport land area in North America, by a great extent. The land was transferred from Adams County to Denver after
3159-440: The airport itself instead of the city it serves, while another code is reserved which refers to the city itself which can be used to search for flights to any of its airports. For instance: Or using a code for the city in one of the major airports and then assigning another code to another airport: When different cities with the same name each have an airport, they need to be assigned different codes. Examples include: Sometimes,
3240-418: The airport's former name, such as Orlando International Airport 's MCO (for Mc C o y Air Force Base), or Chicago's O'Hare International Airport , which is coded ORD for its original name: Or char d Field. In rare cases, the code comes from the airport's unofficial name, such as Kahului Airport 's OGG (for local aviation pioneer Jimmy H ogg ). In large metropolitan areas, airport codes are often named after
3321-409: The airport, providing courtesy shuttle services from Jeppesen Terminal Level 5, Island 4, to their parking areas. The airport claims that it is completely accessible to bicycling travelers. The city of Denver's designated bike route consists of the non-separated shoulders of the 65-mph Peña Boulevard freeway, a route which Denver's former bicycle planner James Mackay has called "a facade, an appearance,
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3402-477: The airport, where some can only be appreciated after passing through security. The artwork includes sculptures, murals, photos, sound art and paintings. The airport features a bronze statue of Denver native Jack Swigert by Loveland, Colorado artist George Lundeen in Concourse B. Swigert flew on Apollo 13 as Command Module Pilot, and was elected to the House of Representatives in 1982, but died of cancer before he
3483-402: 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 and carts that would often toss the luggage right off the system. After the embarrassing preview, the mayor cancelled the planned May opening. The baggage system continued to be a maintenance hassle and
3564-502: The code SHA, while the newer Shanghai–Pudong adopted PVG. The opposite was true for Berlin : the airport Berlin–Tegel used the code TXL, while its smaller counterpart Berlin–Schönefeld used SXF; the Berlin Brandenburg Airport has the airport code BER, which is also part of its branding. The airports of Hamburg (HAM) and Hannover (HAJ) are less than 100 nautical miles (190 km) apart and therefore share
3645-421: The coming years matching what is found at the new gates and within the renovated portions of the terminal. When both the ongoing terminal and concourse projects are completed, the airport will be able to handle upwards of 100 million passengers per year. On August 20, 2021, the airport experienced a mechanical failure of its train system that caused significant delays. In response, a request for information from
3726-405: The conspiracy theories instead of trying to fight them. In 2016, a small "Conspiracy Theories Uncovered" exhibition was installed in the terminal, explaining some of the more popular theories. In 2019, an animatronic gargoyle named Gregoriden, or Greg for short, that randomly makes statements such as "welcome to Illuminati headquarters" was installed. Some took offense to the gargoyle, claiming it
3807-633: The east end of Concourse A to be used solely for Frontier Airlines operations. Originally constructed in 2018 as temporary regional gates for United Airlines, this A-East wing was vacated by United earlier in 2022, making way for the renovation and expansion of the Frontier gates. It is intended to be removed once a more permanent A-East expansion (similar to what recently opened in A-West) occurs at an unknown future date. The renovated and expanded Concourse A-East wing officially opened summer 2024 and results in
3888-886: The end. Examples include: A lot of minor airfields without scheduled passenger traffic have ICAO codes but not IATA codes, since the four letter codes allow more number of codes, and IATA codes are mainly used for passenger services such as tickets, and ICAO codes by pilots. In the US, such airfields use FAA codes instead of ICAO. There are airports with scheduled service for which there are ICAO codes but not IATA codes, such as Nkhotakota Airport/Tangole Airport in Malawi or Chōfu Airport in Tokyo, Japan. There are also several minor airports in Russia (e.g., Omsukchan Airport ) which lack IATA codes and instead use internal Russian codes for booking. Flights to these airports cannot be booked through
3969-533: The entire Jeppesen Terminal including the beginning phases of construction to relocate two out of the three TSA security checkpoints from the Great Hall on Level 5 to Level 6 (East & West) while simultaneously updating and consolidating airline ticket counters/check-in for all airlines. Eventually, both pre- and post-security gathering and leisure areas will be incorporated into the spaces where both expansive TSA security areas on Level 5 are currently located. The third TSA security checkpoint currently accessible via
4050-557: The first three letters of the city in which it is located, for instance: The code may also be a combination of the letters in its name, such as: Sometimes the airport code reflects pronunciation, rather than spelling, namely: For many reasons, some airport codes do not fit the normal scheme described above. Some airports, for example, cross several municipalities or regions, and therefore, use codes derived from some of their letters, resulting in: Other airports—particularly those serving cities with multiple airports—have codes derived from
4131-478: The following format: Most large airports in Canada have codes that begin with the letter "Y", although not all "Y" codes are Canadian (for example, YUM for Yuma, Arizona , and YNT for Yantai , China), and not all Canadian airports start with the letter "Y" (for example, ZBF for Bathurst, New Brunswick ). Many Canadian airports have a code that starts with W, X or Z, but none of these are major airports. When
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#17327732342524212-597: The form of " YYZ ", a song by the rock band Rush , which utilizes the Morse code signal as a musical motif. Some airports have started using their IATA codes as brand names , such as Calgary International Airport (YYC) and Vancouver International Airport (YVR). Numerous New Zealand airports use codes that contain the letter Z, to distinguish them from similar airport names in other countries. Examples include HLZ for Hamilton , ZQN for Queenstown , and WSZ for Westport . Predominantly, airport codes are named after
4293-524: The general economy has been a popular policy measure since the economic crisis of the 1930s. Recent examples are the 2008–2009 Chinese economic stimulus program , the 2008 European Union stimulus plan , and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 . Megaprojects often raise capital based on expected returns—though projects often go overbudget and over time, and market conditions like commodity prices can change. Concern at cost overruns
4374-487: The international air booking systems or have international luggage transferred there, and thus, they are booked instead through the airline or a domestic booking system. Several heliports in Greenland have 3-letter codes used internally which might be IATA codes for airports in faraway countries. There are several airports with scheduled service that have not been assigned ICAO codes that do have IATA codes, especially in
4455-436: The largest hydroelectric project in the world, required the displacement of 1.2 million farmers. In the 1970s, the highway revolts in some Western nations saw urban activists opposing government plans to demolish buildings for freeway route construction, on the basis that such demolitions would unfairly disadvantage the urban working class and benefit commuters. Anti-nuclear protests against proposed nuclear power plants in
4536-428: The most common megaprojects are in the categories of hydroelectric facilities, nuclear power plants, and large public transportation projects. Megaprojects can also include large-scale high-cost initiatives in scientific research and infrastructure, such as the sequencing of the human genome , a significant global advance in genetics and biotechnology . The logic on which many of the typical megaprojects are built
4617-404: The mural shows children displaying great sadness over the destruction and extinction of life, as the second half of the artwork depicts humanity coming together to rehabilitate and celebrate nature. Tanguma confirms this was his intent. In March 2019, the airport unveiled an animated, talking gargoyle in the middle of one of the concourses. The gargoyle interacted with passengers and joked about
4698-612: The name of the airport itself, for instance: This is also true with some cities with a single airport (even if there is more than one airport in the metropolitan area of said city), such as BDL for Hartford, Connecticut 's B ra dl ey International Airport or Baltimore's BWI, for B altimore/ W ashington I nternational Airport ; however, the latter also serves Washington, D.C. , alongside Dulles International Airport (IAD, for I nternational A irport D ulles) and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA, for D istrict of C olumbia A irport). The code also sometimes comes from
4779-471: The national transportation system, the federal government put $ 500 million (equivalent to $ 1.1 billion as of 2023) toward the new airport. The rest of the cost would be financed by bonds, to be repaid with fees on airlines. Ground was broken in September 1989. Two years later, Mayor Wellington Webb inherited the megaproject , which at that time was scheduled to open on October 29, 1993. At the time United
4860-594: The new ones also foreclose "upon a wide variety of social practices, reproducing rather than resolving urban inequality and disenfranchisement". Because of their plethora of land uses "these mega-projects inhibit the growth of oppositional and contestational practices". The collective benefits that are often the underlying logic of a mega-project, are here reduced to an individualized form of public benefit. Proponents of infrastructure-based development advocate for funding large-scale projects to create long-term economic benefits. Investing in megaprojects in order to stimulate
4941-416: The one they are located in: Other airport codes are of obscure origin, and each has its own peculiarities: In Asia, codes that do not correspond with their city's names include Niigata 's KIJ , Nanchang 's KHN and Pyongyang 's FNJ . EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg , which serves three countries, has three airport codes: BSL, MLH, EAP. Some cities have a name in their respective language which
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#17327732342525022-486: The opening of RTD 's A Line . On September 9, 2015, a political campaign was launched by Mayor Michael Hancock to radically expand commercial development at DEN, previously prohibited by intergovernmental agreement between Denver and Adams County. The changes to the agreement were approved by both Denver and Adams County voters in November 2015. In 2018, work began on a major interior renovation and reconfiguration to
5103-531: The outstanding snow and ice removal operation during difficult winter conditions. After shunning DEN for over a decade for its high fees, Southwest Airlines entered the airport in January 2006 with 13 daily flights. Southwest has since rapidly expanded and is now the airport's second-largest carrier after United. On November 19, 2015, a Westin hotel was added to the airport and on April 22, 2016, DEN received commuter rail service to Denver Union Station with
5184-414: The private sector was issued to analyze options to possibly supplement the train system in the future. By 2023, several companies proposed their ideas to transport passengers. In 2022, a committee was formed to support efforts to establish flights between Denver and Africa. In August 2022, DEN broke ground on an additional gate expansion project that would bring a total of 14 ground-loaded/tarmac gates to
5265-506: The same first and middle letters, indicating that this rule might be followed only in Germany. Many cities retain historical names in their airport codes, even after having undergone an official name/spelling/transliteration change: Some airport codes are based on previous names associated with a present airport, often with a military heritage. These include: Some airports are named for an administrative division or nearby city, rather than
5346-439: The sculpture when a part of it fell on him and severed an artery in his leg . At the time of his death, Jiménez had completed painting the head of the mustang. Blue Mustang was completed by others, and unveiled at the airport on February 11, 2008. The statue has been the subject of considerable controversy, and has acquired the nickname Blucifer for its demonic appearance. The Regional Transportation District (RTD) operates
5427-500: The station code of Malton, Mississauga , where it is located). YUL is used for Montréal–Trudeau (UL was the ID code for the beacon in the city of Kirkland , now the location of Montréal–Trudeau). While these codes make it difficult for the public to associate them with a particular Canadian city, some codes have become popular in usage despite their cryptic nature, particularly at the largest airports. Toronto's code has entered pop culture in
5508-435: The supposed conspiracies connected to the airport. Blue Mustang , by El Paso-born artist Luis Jiménez , was one of the earliest public art commissions for Denver International Airport in 1993. The 32-foot-tall (9.8 m) sculpture is a bright blue cast-fiberglass sculpture of a horse with glowing red eyes located between the inbound and outbound lanes of Peña Boulevard . Jiménez was killed in 2006 at age 65 while creating
5589-423: The terminal by 2045. The project is being referred to as 'Operation 2045' and will help support the airport’s goal of serving over 125 million passengers annually by that time. The airport is 23 miles (37 km) from Downtown Denver , which is 15 miles (24 km) farther away than Stapleton International Airport , the airport DEN replaced. The 52.4 square miles (136 km; 33,500 acres) of land occupied by
5670-526: The terminal—began in late 2020 and progressively continue to this day. In early February 2024, the first of two new security screening areas (West Security on Level 6) opened to the public. It is located directly north of the new United Airlines Check-In facilities. The new East Security, directly across the Great Hall from West, is expected to open in mid to late 2025. At that time both Level 5 North & South Security areas (which have been in operation for over 20 years) will be closed and removed in addition to
5751-409: The top 20 busiest airports in the world every year since 2000. Denver has traditionally been home to one of the busier airports in the United States because its midcontinent location was ideal for an airline hub . Several airlines, notably United Airlines and Continental Airlines , had hubs at the former Stapleton International Airport , helping make it the sixth-busiest airport in the country by
5832-501: The train. All international arrivals without border pre-clearance are processed in Concourse A; this concourse also has four 3-jetway international gates that can support ADG Group VI aircraft such as an Airbus A380 and a Boeing 747-8 , the two largest commercial aircraft in the world. In 2023, the airport announced a plan to significantly increase its passenger capacity by expanding the Jeppesen Terminal with additional check-in and TSA counters. The plan would also add new concourses with
5913-515: The two-letter code of the radio beacons that were the closest to the actual airport, such as YQX in Gander or YXS in Prince George . Four of the ten provincial capital airports in Canada have ended up with codes beginning with YY, including: Canada's largest airport is YYZ for Toronto Pearson (as YTZ was already allocated to Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport , the airport was given
5994-529: The use of two letters allowed only a few hundred combinations; a three-letter system of airport codes was implemented. This system allowed for 17,576 permutations, assuming all letters can be used in conjunction with each other. Since the U.S. Navy reserved "N" codes, and to prevent confusion with Federal Communications Commission broadcast call signs , which begin with "W" or "K", the airports of certain U.S. cities whose name begins with one of these letters had to adopt "irregular" airport codes: This practice
6075-636: Was closed for more than 45 hours, stranding thousands. Following this, the airport invested heavily in new snow-removal equipment that has led to a dramatic reduction in runway occupancy times to clear snow, down from an average of 45 minutes in 2006 to just 15 minutes. In 2020, the airport was awarded the Balchen/Post award, which is presented by the Northeast Chapter of the American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE) for
6156-443: Was finally terminated in September 2005, with traditional baggage handlers manually handling cargo and passenger luggage. DEN finally replaced Stapleton on February 28, 1995, 16 months behind schedule and at a cost of $ 4.8 billion (equivalent to $ 8.8 billion as of 2023), nearly $ 2 billion over budget ($ 3.7 billion as of 2023). The construction employed 11,000 workers. United Airlines Flight 1062 to Kansas City International Airport
6237-404: Was refusing to move to the new airport over the high proposed fees. The airline finally relented under the condition that the airport include an automated baggage system. Construction delays pushed 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 1994. In April 1994,
6318-525: Was satanic, so the gargoyle was removed and replaced with a more muted version. Other gargoyle statues, sitting on open suitcases, are in the baggage claim area. Some also view these statues as malevolent, despite their intended purpose as playful artistic creations that are claimed to safeguard luggage. In April 2019, the Roswell International Air Center and Denver International Airport became "supernatural sister airports." In
6399-791: Was successful, generating over $ 8 million in revenue. IATA airport code The assignment of these codes is governed by IATA Resolution 763, and it is administered by the IATA's headquarters in Montreal , Canada. The codes are published semi-annually in the IATA Airline Coding Directory. IATA provides codes for airport handling entities, and for certain railway stations. Alphabetical lists of airports sorted by IATA code are available. A list of railway station codes , shared in agreements between airlines and rail lines such as Amtrak , SNCF , and Deutsche Bahn ,
6480-554: Was sworn in. The statue is dressed in an A7L pressure suit , and is posed holding a gold -plated helmet. It is a duplicate of a statue placed at the United States Capitol in 1997. George Lundeen is also the sculptor of "The Aviator", a monumental bronze sculpture of Elrey Borge Jeppesen , for whom the terminal is named. Denver International Airport has four murals by the Chicano artist Leo Tanguma. "Children of
6561-452: Was the first to depart DEN and United Flight 1474 from Colorado Springs Airport was the first to arrive at the new airport. In September 2003, runway 16R/34L was added, the airport's sixth and at 16,000 ft (3.0 mi; 4.9 km), it is 4,000 ft (0.76 mi; 1.2 km) longer than the other runways. Its length, exceeded by only six other runways in the world, allows fully laden Airbus A380s and Boeing 747-8s to take off in
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