DEN Airport Overview
Denver International Airport DEN - also known as DIA Airport - is close to Interstate 70, and half an hour drive east of the City of Denver, Colorado, also known as the 'Mile-High City". The Airport was described as being like an apparition of snowy white peaks floating over the empty plains. Denver Airport, the highest airport in the United States, operates six runways (5 of them 12,000 feet each, and one 16,000 feet) and can accommodate any commercial aircraft now in service. Opened in 1995, this facility occupies 55 square miles and is one of the largest airports in the world, with plenty of room to grow. Indeed, the official funding for major expansions 2009 to 2013 was approved in 2008 and work has begun. With over 51.2 million passengers in 2008, Denver Airport is presently being served by many major airlines with non-stops to over 100 national and international destinations, and connections to all points of the globe.
Denver Airport’s main terminal, the Jeppesen Terminal, shows a light and airy central atrium with a canopy ceiling of fiberglass fabric resembling peaks and valleys of nearby mountains. The Terminal splits into East and West Terminals and separates traffic into three levels: upper level for departures, mid level for ground transportation and lower level for passenger pick-up. Gates are arranged along three concourses connected to each other and the main terminal by a people-mover train. Concourse A, home to Denver-based Frontier Airlines, is also connected to the Airport’s main terminal by a unique walkway that provides great views of airplanes and the mountains in the distance.
A host of restaurants, bars, lounges, shops and duty-free shops are available throughout the Jeppesen Terminal. Other services there include:
1. Information: Information booths are located in the Jeppesen Terminal and in each concourse - for airport, flight & tourist information. When dialing 2000, the white courtesy phones throughout the airport offer a direct link to Customer Service for paging, information or to report an emergency. Hospitality Ambassadors with white cowboy hats roam throughout the airport offering help where needed.
2. Lost & Found: located on Level 5 North near international arrivals (for items lost on an airplane or lost luggage call your airline).
3. WiFi: free Internet access is available throughout Jeppesen Terminal and Concourses A, B, and C.
4. A full-service Public Service Credit Union branch is on Level 6 of the Jeppesen Terminal, with 14 ATM machines located throughout the terminal and concourses.
5. A full-service U.S. Post Office is located on Level 6, West of the 4. Jeppesen Terminal, open 7am-5pm Mon-Sat.
6. Qwest Business Center: located at Concourse B, Level 3, Mezzanine.
7. USO: (The Rocky Mountain United Service Organization Center) serves members of the armed forces and their familities and is located beyond security screening in the President’s Club, at the end of the pedestrian bridge connecting Jeppesen Terminal with Concourse A. (303-342-6876; e-mail: hmargolis@uso.org).
8. Smoking Areas: Aviator's Club on the west side of Jeppesen Terminal, Level 6, in the atrium; Mesa Verde, on the center core mezzanine of Concourse A; another Aviator's Club on Concourse B, mezzanine level, center core; and Smokin' Bear on Concourse C, center core; or outside the terminal.
9. Baggage Carts, Lockers and Storage: Baggage carts are near ticket counters, baggage carousels and security-screening checkpoints in Jeppesen Terminal, Levels 5 and 6. Cart rental is $3, coins & bills accepted. For arriving international travelers, carts are provided at no charge in the Federal Inspection Services area. No charge for arriving travelers. Baggage storage is in Jeppesen Terminal Level 5 (303-342-5858).
10. Chapel: Interfaith Chapel and the Islamic Masjid are on Level 6, Terminal East atrium, near the south end.
11. Pet Relief Area: wheelchair accessible, located outside Jeppesen Terminal on Level 2 West, not far from Door 200. Note that connecting passengers should add at least 30 minutes to get back through security screening and to the airline gate.
12. Rental Cars: Most rental car agencies provide courtesy shuttle service to their facilities and have service counters located in Jeppesen Terminal, Level 5.
If you need to pick up a passenger at the Airport, use the free '45-Minute Waiting Area' (Cell Phone Lot) on 75th Avenue. Stay with your car until your party has collected luggage and calls you to be picked up at the Terminal's lower level curb.
Other parking options include: (W&E designations means West and East facilities) 1. Valet Parking W&E: next to the terminal entrance; 2. Short-Term lots W&E: next to the terminal; 3. Garage W&E: adjacent to short-term lots; 4. Economy W&E: behind the parking garage, on both sides of the circle drives W&E; 5. Pikes Peak Shuttle lots: on Gun Club Road and Jackson Gap Street; and 6. Mt. Elbert Shuttle (for overflow only). Pikes Peak and Mt Elbert lots are served by free shuttle service to the terminal.
QuickPark Service: The first automated credit card readers were installed at the Mt. Elbert Shuttle Parking Lot in late 2008 as the first phase of this new parking system. QuickPark is a quick ticketless way to enter and exit the parking lot with your credit card. (A parking ticket can still be obtained by pushing a button for non-credit card transactions.) All entry and exit lanes will have credit card readers. Simply insert your credit card into a reader when you enter the facility. Your credit card will work like your ticket, and the time and date of your entry will be recorded. Upon your return, insert the same credit card to exit - your parking fee will be calculated and your card will automatically be charged. When your transaction is complete, just push the button for a receipt and off you go. Available at all Denver Airport parking lots by January 2010.
To get from the Airport to your destination, you can rent a car, take a taxi or limo, a door-to-door shuttle or hotel shuttle, or public transportation. The Ground Transportation Information Counter is located on Level 5 of the Jeppesen Terminal and open daily, 6:30am-11:30pm (303-342-4059). Pickup locations at East and West Parking Garage are for the following types of transportation (even door numbers: West Parking Garage; odd numbers: East Parking Garage): 1. Commuter Vans: Island 6, doors 505, 507, 510, 512; 2. Mountain Carriers: Island 2, doors 505, 507, 511, 506, 510, 512; and 3. Pikes Peak/Mt. Elbert: Island 5, doors 511, 513, 504, 506.
There are many shuttle services available, one of which is the Super Shuttle Denver (800-525-3177 or 303-370-1300). Also, the RTD SkyRide (303-299-6000 or 800-366-7433) public bus takes you to downtown Denver and stops outside Door 511 on the East Side of Jeppesen Terminal, Level 5, Island 5.
NEWS: The new South Redevelopment Program is in its design stages, involves the area south of Jeppesen Terminal and will include a new Westin Hotel, a FasTrack station with an open-air plaza above it, as well as expansion of levels 5 & 6 of the Terminal. The project will also include the design for a major FasTrack bridge over Pena Blvd and one over the exit roadway, among other projects. All projects are to be completed by 2013.
Main Terminal / Concourses at Denver DEN Airport Denver Airport's main terminal building is named for businessman and aviation pioneer Elrey B. Jeppesen, whose “Jepp” navigational maps and charts are standard equipment in almost every commercial airline cockpit in the world. The terminal provides 1.5 million square feet of space, and the three concourses bring the total usable space to more than 6 million square feet of public space.
Jeppesen Terminal splits into The East and West Terminal.
Concourses A, B and C have each 3 levels: Level 3 - mezzanine; Level 2 - gates; and Level B - train station. All have a total of 89 gates and are connected to the Main Terminal.