Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Denver International Airport

Denver International Airport often referred to as DIA, is an airport in Denver, Colorado. At 140 square kilometres (35,000 acres) it is the largest airport in the United States by total area, and the second largest airport in the world after King Fahd International Airport. Runway 16R/34L is the longest public use runway in the United States. In 2012 Denver International Airport was the 11th-busiest airport in the world by passenger traffic with 53,156,278 passengers.

It was the fifth-busiest airport in the world by aircraft movements with over 635,000 movements in 2010. The airport is in northeastern Denver and is operated by the City & County of Denver Department of Aviation. DIA was voted Best Airport in North America by readers of Business Traveler Magazine six years in a row (2005–2010) and was named "America's Best Run Airport" by Time Magazine in 2002.

Denver International Airport is the main hub for low-cost carrier Frontier Airlines and commuter carrier Great Lakes Airlines. It is also the fourth-largest hub for United Airlines. The airport is a focus city for Southwest Airlines. Since commencing service to Denver in January 2006, Southwest has added over 50 destinations, making Lovely Denver its fastest-growing market. Denver International Airport is the only airport in the United States to have implemented an ISO 14001-certified environmental management system covering the entire airport.

History

From 1980 to 1983, the Denver Regional Council of Governments (DRCOG) investigated six areas for a new metro area airport which were North and East of Denver. In September 1989, under the leadership of Denver Mayor Federico Peña (after whom Peña Boulevard is named), federal officials authorized the outlay of the first $60 million for the construction of DIA. Two years later, Mayor Wellington Webb inherited the megaproject, 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.

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 $4.8 billion, nearly $2 billion over budget. The construction employed 11,000 workers. United flight 1062 to Kansas City International Airport was the first to depart and United flight 1474 from Colorado Springs Airport was the first to arrive.

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
Another blizzard on December 20 and 21st, 2006 dumped over 20 inches (51 cm) of snow in about 24 hours. The airport was closed for more than 45 hours, stranding thousands.

Art

Both during construction and after its opening Denver International Airport has set aside a portion of its construction and operation budgets for art. Gargoyles hiding in suitcases are present above the exit doors from baggage claim. The corridor from the Jeppesen Terminal and Concourse A usually contains additional temporary exhibits. Finally a number of different public art works are present in the underground train that links the main terminal with the concourses.

Mustang, by New Mexico artist Luis Jiménez, was one of the earliest public art commissions for Denver International Airport in 1993. Standing at 32 feet (9.8 m) tall and weighing 9,000 pounds (4,100 kg), "Mustang" is a blue cast-fiberglass sculpture with red shining eyes located between the inbound and outbound lanes of Peña Boulevard. Jiménez died in 2006 while creating the sculpture when the head 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. The sculpture was completed with the help of the artist's staff, family, and professional race-car painters Camillo Nuñez and Richard LaVato. Upon completion the sculpture was sent to California for assembly and then shipped to Denver. "Mustang" was unveiled at DEN on February 11, 2008.

Solar energy system!

Partial view of the solar farm under construction, leaving the airport, July 1, 2008.
Between February and August 2008, construction of an on-site, two-megawatt solar energy system took place. The single-axis tracking system provides 3.5 million kilowatt-hours of energy per year and uses 9,200 solar panels made by Sharp. Originally designed to power a jail, it spares the environment of more than five million pounds of carbon emissions annually. The system generates the equivalent of half the energy needs of the underground trains that move people between concourses. The $13 million-plus system sits on 7.5 acres (or 30,000 m2), clearly visible to people entering and exiting the airport. WorldWater & Solar Technologies Corp. designed and built the system, while MMA Renewable Ventures LLC—rather than DIA—owns the solar farm and sells its energy to the airport. Denver International Airport’s three solar array systems now produce approximately six percent of the airport’s total power requirements. The output makes DEN the largest distributed generation photovoltaic energy producer in the state of Colorado.

Telecommunications

DIA has Wi-Fi access throughout the airport. The free service is ad-supported through an advertising-filled HTML frame that is inserted into the top of the browser window. Users of the Wi-Fi network are also required to view a 30-second advertising video in the browser before Internet access is granted, although in many cases a click-through button is provided to avoid viewing the ad. The network is managed by FreeFi Networks, a Los Angeles-based firm. T-Mobile HotSpot service is available in the airport lounges run by United Airlines and American Airlines. The airport has pay-per-use kiosks which can be used to access the Internet and to play video games. The current stations were developed by Zoox Stations and were installed in 2007.

Controversy

There are several conspiracy theories relating to the airport's design and construction such as the runways being laid out in a shape similar to a swastika. Murals painted in the baggage claim area have been claimed to contain themes referring to future military oppression and a one-world government. However, the artist, Leo Tanguma, said the murals, entitled "In Peace and Harmony With Nature" and "The Children of the World Dream of Peace," depict man-made environmental destruction and genocide along with humanity coming together to heal nature and live in peace.
Conspiracists have also seen unusual markings in the terminals in DIA and have recorded them as templar markings. They have pointed to unusual words cut into the floor as being Satanic, Masonic, or some impenetrable secret code of the New World Order: Cochetopa, Sisnaajini and Dzit Dit Gaii. These words are actually Navajo terms for geographical sites in Colorado. "Braaksma" and "Villarreal" are actually the names of Carolyn Braaksma and Mark Villarreal, artists who worked on the airport’s sculptures and paintings.

There is a dedication marker in the airport inscribed with words, "New World Airport Commission". It also is inscribed with the Square and Compasses of the Freemasons, along with a listing of the two Grand Lodges of Freemasonry in Colorado. It is mounted over a time capsule that was sealed during the dedication of the airport, to be opened in 2094. The Freemasons participated in laying this “capstone” (the last, finishing stone) of the airport project.

Robert Blaskiewicz writing for Skeptical Inquirer Magazine states that conspiracies about the airport range from the "absurd to the even more absurd". When asking airport media representatives, 'what conspiracies are associated with the airport', they responded, "You name a conspiracy theory and somehow we seem to be connected to it." Blaskiewicz found that contrary to claims from conspiracy theorists that DIA will not discuss these stories with the public, they also give tours of the airport.


Denver and jurisdictions surrounding the airport are involved in a protracted dispute over how to develop land around the facility. Denver Mayor Michael Hancock wants to add commercial development around the airport, but officials in Adams County believe doing so violates the original agreement that allowed Denver to annex the land on which the airport sits.

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