Denver International Airport - Essay Example

DENVER INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT Ranked third in the world, in operation since 28-2-1995, the massive DIA – twice the size of Manhattan Island - has several unique features. Owned by the City of Denver, run Department of Aviation, it staffs 30,000 members. The 6-runway airfield is laid out in a pinwheel pattern supported by a massive 327 foot control tower. Jeppesen Terminal is linked to Concourse A by a 365 foot long, glass enclosed pedestrian bridge that affords uninterrupted view of tarmac activity below. TRACON and FMA systems assist ATCs to accomplish feats of landing even 3 aircraft simultaneously. DIA engineers use MapGuide to keep tabs on its massive underground utility systems including 11,365 miles of copper cable – enough to link the U.S to Argentina. The largest airport in the world is King Fahd International Airport in Saudi Arabia. Canada’s Montreal-Mirabel Airport is ranked second. The United States of America’s Denver International Airport occupies third spot (Wikipedia.org, 2007). Denver International Airport {commonly referred to as DIA} is situated in the northeastern area of Denver in the state of Colorado. Its airfield, passenger and cargo facilities cover a massive land area of 54 square miles {140 square kilometers} (Wikipedia.org, 2007). DIA has an unusual signature white colored tension fabric roof that evokes memories of the snow-covered Rocky Mountains during winter (Wikipedia.org, 2007) – Denver lies at the rim of the Great Plains at the foot of the Rocky Mountains (Castellino, p.7). The tallest point of the roof extends 126 feet above floor level. The huge weight of the roof is borne by 34 vertical poles and 10 miles of steel wire (Datawarehouse.com, 2007). DIA is also famous for its unique pedestrian bridge that links its terminal to one of the Concourses; it affords a wonderful view of airplanes taxiing on the tarmac below (Wikipedia.org, 2007). The massive 33 storey, 327 foot high Control Tower was designed by Leo A. Daly and constructed by M.A. Mortensen Co.’s Federal Contracting Group (Flydenver.com, 2007). [Figure 1: Roof of Denver International Airport] (Wikipedia.org, 2007) 1. HISTORY DIA was constructed primarily as a replacement for Stapleton International Airport that has since been decommissioned. The U.S. Federal government allocated an initial amount of $ 60 million to build DIA in September 1989 (Wikipedia.org, 2007). Hispanic Mayor Federico Pena {term as Mayor: 1983 to 1991} easily the most active, capable and farsighted Mayor of Denver, was in office at that time (Castellino, p.33). Although scheduled to be ready in four years’ time, the project extended to five and a half years due to a series of delays (Wikipedia.org, 2007). The first delay was the result of improper planning and frequent design alterations to adapt to United Airlines’ fluctuating needs (Wikipedia.org, 2007). African American Mayor Wellington Edward Webb {term as Mayor: 1991 to 2001} (Castellino, p.33), Pena’s successor, was constrained to modify the opening day from October 29, 1993 to March 1994. The second delay, spawned by a September 1993 strike by specialized carpenters, gave rise to derisive misinterpretations of the DIA initials such as ‘Delayed Indefinitely Airport’ and ‘Denver’s Imaginary Airport’. Mayor Webb was forced to push back the date of scheduled opening to May 15, 1994. The third delay was caused in April 1994 by the gross malfunctioning of a newly installed computerized baggage facility in DIA. The facility continued to be regularly problematic, due to which it was terminated in September 2005 (Wikipedia.org, 2007) and replaced by manual baggage handling crew of 1,300 persons (Johnson, 2007). The final preparations for opening day took place on September 25, 1994 when DIA invited Federal Aviation Administration {FAA} controllers and a large number of general aviation aircraft to try out its facilities and procedures. The success of this exercise literally laid the red carpet for the official opening ceremony on February 28, 1995. By that time, the total construction cost incurred was $ 5.2 billion {3.2 billion original budgets plus 2 billion excess} (Wikipedia.org, 2007). 2. AIRPORT ORGANIZATION CHART Ownership of DIA rests totally with the City of Denver. Under the umbrella of the City Charter, Denver’s Department of Aviation manages and controls day-to-day operations at DIA. In compliance with the terms of the Constitution of Colorado, the City of Denver has conferred on the Department of Aviation the power of ‘enterprise,’ whereby it can officially issue revenue bonds or other monetary obligations in the name of the City of Denver. The mayor of Denver selects the manager of the Department of Aviation, with the latter expected to formally report directly to the former. There are about 1,000 city employees in the Department of Aviation. Turner West is the current manager of the department, having been appointed to the post in March 2006 by Mayor John Hickenlooper. In addition to overseeing all airport activities, Turner West has been allocated extra responsibilities associated with airport engineering, building and layout arrangements (Flydenver.com, 2007). DIA airport staff consists of more than 30,000 members. A total of 45 IT specialists operate a state-of-the-art IT and communications network that includes the Openview and Network Node Manager {NNM} software of IT giant Hewlett Packard, as well as Alarm Point Systems’ unique event-detection/resolution and disaster detection. The airport’s communications center is the heart of DIA, making sure any emergencies are handled efficiently and solved quickly to the optimum satisfaction of all the parties concerned, including the FAA and Federal Bureau of Investigation {FBI} officials in the City of Denver (Trans Pixs Worldwide, 2007). DIA engineers employ a browser-based interface called MapGuide to obtain data immediately from its GIS and CAD files in order to keep tabs on labyrinth contained below ground level of the airport – the underground railway system, sewer system, utility tunnels, a 5,000 mile long optic fiber cable chain and 11,365 miles of copper cable – the last one enough, as DIA proudly declares, “to run from New York to Buenos Aires, Argentina” (Mills, 2001). 3. THE TERMINAL DESIGN DIA has a main terminal that is linked to three Concourses. These 3 Concourses have a total of 142 gates {Concourse A has 37, Concourse B has 83 and Concourse C has 22 gates} (Wikipedia.org, 2007). [Figure 2: DIA Terminal and Concourses] (Flydenver.com, 2007) 3.1 JEPPESEN TERMINAL The main terminal is named Jeppesen Terminal in memory of famous air travel safety innovator Elrey Borge Jeppesen {a bronze statue that closely resembles him stands in Level 5 section of the terminal}(Castellino, p.14). Jeppesen Terminal is located on the landside of the airport. Three Concourses {A, B and C} are located at considerable distances apart in the airport midfield sector. Concourse A is linked to Jeppesen Terminal by a pedestrian walkway (Wikipedia.org, 2007). [Figure 3: Pedestrian Bridge at DIA] (Wikipedia.org, 2007) The walkway is 365 feet in length and is totally enclosed by glass (Mills, 2001), affording viewers a fantastic view of the airfield activity below them – airplanes taxiing, freight operators loading cargo, maintenance crew going about their tasks and so on. The other two Concourses, as well as Concourse A, are linked to Jeppensen Terminal by an underground train network (Wikipedia.org, 2007). Although the notorious computerized baggage handling system generated many negative repercussions, its plus point was the creation of vast available areas for easy placement of 33 massive baggage scanners {each the size of a minivan} that are employed for screening each and every luggage item (Johnson, 2005). DIA has future plans to expand Jeppesen Terminal at its southern extreme. This is expected to not only create additional ticketing counters, but also contain a railway station representing the final stop of the FasTracks commuter railway operating from the Union Station in the City of Denver (Wikipedia.org, 2007). 3.2 CONCOURSE A All international flights to DIA arrive at Concourse A. Passengers arriving on such flights are required to undergo customs and immigration checks. The 37 gates of Concourse A are numbered A24 to A61. Frontier Airlines, along with its affiliations ExpressJet Airlines, Republic Airlines, Horizontal Air and Lynx Aviation, uses the largest number of gates {28}. Other airlines that operate from Concourse A are Air Canada, British Airways, Champion Air, JetBlue Airways, Continental Airlines, Lufthansa, Mexicana Airlines and Great Lakes Airlines (Wikipedia.org, 2007). Riding on the popularity of a similarly executed expansion in Concourse B, DIA has plans to construct a new Regional Jet Concourse as an extension to Concourse A (Wikipedia.org, 2007). 3.3 CONCOURSE B Concourse B is designated as United Airlines Concourse because that airline has almost monopolized it. In fact, United Airlines flights comprise 57% of the total flights handled by DIA. The 83 gates of Concourse B are numbered B15 to B39 and B41 to B99. United Airlines and its affiliated airlines {Ted, United Express, GoJet Airlines, Mesa Airlines, Shuttle America, SkyWest and Trans State Airlines} operate to various destinations via Concourse B (Wikipedia.org, 2007). Concourse B has undergone a recent extension whereby a new Regional Jet Concourse was added at its eastern sector. This new Concourse, comprising two smaller {called ‘finger’} Concourses, was added so that passengers could speedily access Regional Jets that are relatively smaller than other airplanes. United Airlines has found this new Concourse so beneficial to its Regional Jet operations, that it stopped using Concourse A and now operates all its flights from Concourse B (Wikipedia.org, 2007). 3.4 CONCOURSE C The 22 gates of Concourse C are numbered C28 to C50. The airlines that use the gates in Concourse C are AirTran Airways, Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Big Sky Airlines, Delta Airlines, Comair, ExpressJet Airlines, SkyWest Airlines, Midwest Airlines, Northwest Airlines, Sun Country Airlines, U.S. Airways, Mesa Airlines and South West Airlines (Wikipedia.org, 2007). There are plans to extend Concourse C by adding 8 extra gates located at the Concourse’s eastern extreme. The expansion project, publicly revealed on December 14, 2006 by ‘The Denver Post,’ is expected to be ready by the end of 2009 at an estimated project cost of $ 160 million (Wikipedia.org, 2007). 3.5 Concourses D & E DIA plans to construct Concourse D as an extension to Concourse C. It will not involve moving any prevailing construction. The underground railway network will be expanded to provide access to the new Concourse (Wikipedia.org, 2007). There are also plans to construct Concourse E. This will involve moving the hangar belonging to Continental Airlines (Wikipedia.org, 2007). 4. GROUND ACCESS Jeppesen Terminal represents the land portion of DIA. Road traffic can approach it directly off Pena Boulevard (Wikipedia.org 2007). In its role as the main road leading to DIA, Pena Boulevard can be reached via the E-470 toll route, Tower Road, Airport Boulevard or via Interstate 70 {Exit 284 eastbound, Exit 285 westbound}(Flydenver.com, 2007). Seven bus services operate between DIA and strategic points in the Denver-Aurora and Boulder urban regions. These services, controlled by the Regional Transportation District {RTD}, include 1 Limited bus service, 1 Express bus service and 5 skyRide express bus services. The Limited and Express bus services are suitable for use by workers in DIA, while the skyRide buses are preferred by passengers on account of their very comfortable seats and sufficient luggage storage areas. The RTD plans to develop a commuter railway link originating from the Union Station in the City of Denver, passing through Aurora and ending at DIA. RTD expects to finalize this project by the year 2015 (Wikipedia.org, 2007). DIA has eight parking facilities: two facilities have 5 floors each, two are meant for short-term parking, two are open economy parking areas and two are outlying shuttle areas. Availability of parking is indicated on electronic signboards along Pena Boulevard for the information of passengers driving to DIA (Flydenver.com, 2007). Departing passengers, as well as drivers dropping off passengers at curb sides, are well-advised to study the electronic board signs just before entering Jeppesen Terminal, to check if the airline in which they are traveling is operating from the east or west sections of the terminal, in order to use the parking facility that is closest to that airline ticket counter and baggage handling system. Many airlines assist passengers by providing curbside luggage check in services (Flydenver.com, 2007). Passengers can reach Concourse A by crossing the pedestrian walkway that connects it to Jeppesen Terminal. They also have the option of using underground trains to reach Concourse A. Passengers wishing to reach Concourses B and C have no other alternative except to use the underground train network (Wikipedia.org, 2007). Passengers arriving to DIA from other cities should take their baggage from Baggage Claim on Level 5 of Jeppesen Terminal and then move down to Level 4 by escalator or elevator. Private cars are permitted to drive through and collect passengers from Level 4 only. Parking by the curbside is strictly prohibited (Flydenver.com, 2007). Those interested in meeting domestic or international travelers inside Jeppesen Terminal should park their vehicles in one of the two short-term parking facilities and move to Level 5. Domestic travelers can be met at the fountain on Level 5, or at the relevant airline’s circular baggage conveyor belt. International travelers can be met at the ‘International Arrivals’ section located at the northern extreme of Level 5, close to the statue of Elrey Jeppesen. Meeting travelers at airline gates is permitted only if one possesses a valid airline ticket, or if ‘demonstrated need’ permission is previously obtained from the airline {such permissions are not provided by DIA authorities} (Flydenver.com, 2007). 5. The Airport Security As in all other commercial airports in the country, the Transport Security Administration {TSA} is in charge of security screening of passengers and luggage at DIA. Security personnel permit only passengers carrying valid tickets and boarding passes obtained from the relevant airline to undergo security screening. It is now prohibited to accept e-ticket confirmation instead of normal tickets (Flydenver.com, 2007). The only exceptions to the security screening procedure are handicapped people. Such persons are helped by personnel from Traveler’s Assistance Program {TAP} to access to assistances such as wheelchairs and oxygen. TAP assistance can be accessed only if they are informed sufficiently well in advance (Flydenver.com, 2007). 6. The Airfield Layout DIA airfield consists of 6 runways and a control tower. Four runways run north/south, and two run in east/west directions (Wikipedia.org, 2007). The approach to each runway is well equipped with state-of-the-art Instrument Landing Systems (Datawarehouse.com, 2007). The approaches on the southern sector to the 4 runways that run parallel to one another are classified as Category III-6, meaning that it permits automatic landing in bad visibility situations. Lights are lodged solidly in the lines at the center of the runways with the aim of assisting pilots guide their aircraft safely in times of bad visibility. Well-lit ‘stop’ signs are placed at strategic points to prevent unauthorized vehicles and airplanes from transgressing the runways (Flydenver.com, 2007). The minimum distance between any two parallel runways is 4,300 feet that is in compliance with FAA regulations aimed at facilitating simultaneous aircraft take off and landing even in unfavorable weather conditions (Datawarehouse.com, 2007). The unique pinwheel pattern of the runways ensures that airplanes can operate from each runway independently with no danger of coinciding or queuing with other runways (Wikipedia.org, 2007). There is not a single instance of one runway transgressing upon another – this negates any possibility of airplane traffic jams or crashes (Flydenver.com, 2007). Runway No. 6 {16R/34L} is 16,000 feet long – the longest runway not only in the country, but also in the continent (Wikipedia.org, 2007) – and 200 feet wide. Each of the other 5 runways is 12,000 feet long and 150 feet wide (Flydenver.com, 2007). The additional dimensions of Runway 16R/34L makes it ideal to handle huge aircraft like Jumbo Jets and the Airbus A380 (Wikipedia.org, 2007). [Figure 4: DIA Runways] {Flydenver.com, 2007) The efficiency of its runway layout pattern is evident from the fact that the FAA ranked DIA third in the country in terms of minimum flight delays during the period February 1995 to January 1996. The honor is exacerbated by the fact that this period comprised DIA’s first year of operations (Datawarehouse.com). There is a possibility of adding another 6 new runways to supplement the existing 6 (Wikipedia.org, 2007). The outstanding feature of DIA Cargo facilities is the lack of operational curfews. Its well organized airfield and massive Cargo ramp measuring 39 acres are conducive to unproblematic freight operations. [Figure 5: DIA Cargo Facilities] (Flydenver.com, 2007) Passenger flights utilize a 110,200 square foot, joint-use, belly-cargo facility. In 2006, one fourth of all air cargo of DIA was handled by passenger aircraft. DIA has 4 efficient Cargo Carriers {FedEx, DHL, UPS and Integrated Airline Services} located in 3 structures in the airfield’s southern sector. Situated close to the 3 structures is the U.S. Postal Service building and the cargo building belonging to United Airlines. The latter is the central point from which United Airlines carries nearly half a million pounds of freight in its passenger airplanes everyday. WorldPort, located to the west of the 3 structures, maintains 2 huge 50,000 square foot structures to accommodate air cargo operators such as freight forwarders, custom brokers and others. A separate section has been demarcated as the Foreign Trade Zone (Flydenver.com, 2007). DIA has 5 deicing facilities. Four of them are situated to the western side of the Concourses, and the fifth is situated close to the cargo apron. Each facility can handle between 5 to 6 aircraft simultaneously. Airline deicing - as well as fuelling - is handled by DIA’s fixed-base operator, Signature-Denver (Flydenver.com, 2007). Division 6 of Denver Fire Department oversees all activities associated with fire at DIA. At any given time, 87 specialized, skilled firemen are on hand to supply emergency service. DIA has 4 Aircraft Rescue & Firefighting {ARFF} facilities situated at strategic points in the airfield to enable ARFF firemen to arrive at the middle point of any airfield runway within an incredibly short span of 3 minutes (Flydenver.com, 2007). The Control Tower in the DIA airfield is 327 feet high and comprises 33 stories. It was constructed between May 1991 and November 1992 (Flydenver.com, 2007). It is located about 3 miles south of Jeppesen Terminal. Its massive height ensures that it commands an unhindered visual perception of all runways. The tower houses the Terminal Radar Approach Control {TRACON} facility. Air Traffic Controllers {ATCs} ensconced in the tower guide airplanes within a zone comprising 45 miles from the airport and 24,000 feet in altitude (Datawarehouse.com, 2007). The performance of the ATCs is greatly boosted by the existence of sophisticated equipment. The Final Monitor Aids {FMA} system employs radar and computers to display facts about real-time tracking on color screens for them to keep track of final paths that aircraft follow as they prepare to land. Two Airport Surveillance Radars {ASR-9s} supply facts about airspace tracking. Vital wind-shear information is supplied by 29 wind speed and direction sensors supported by a Terminal Doppler Weather Radar that keeps tabs on storms and is helpful in tracing microburst processes. ASDE-III {Airport Surface Detection Equipment} radar helps ATCs to keep airport tarmac activity under surveillance; it is particularly helpful when bad weather hides certain sections of the airfield (Flydenver.com, 2007). DIA is the first airport in the world that successfully landed 3 aircraft simultaneously, that too in adverse weather conditions (Mills). 7. Trivia The Control Tower at DIA airport has an extraordinary feature - it has been designed to sway up to a maximum of half an inch even in strong winds up to 86 miles an hour} (Wikipedia.org, 2007). The airport’s much hyped-about automatic baggage handling system gained notoriety for all the wrong reasons. It went from one failure to another, the scale of malfunctioning in each case competing to be more outrageous, the most spectacular being the repeated inability of luggage to negotiate sharp corners, and the failure of the much vaunted telescoping belt loader optimistically dubbed the ‘lizard tongue.’ Its plus point was the formation of lots of room for 33 baggage scanners to be set up – the airport designers had not anticipated such ground-breaking federal security regulations when DIA was originally constructed (Johnson, 2007). The audio recordings that are a prominent feature of the underground train system are refreshingly innovative. Male and female voices are vocalized by Alan Roach {famous evergreen Coors Field commentator} and Adele Arakawa {attractive Japanese-American evening news anchor for television Channel 9 (Wikipedia.org, 2007). Due to some strange reason, the DIA administration authorized the painting of extraordinary murals in the interior of the airport. Three examples are sufficient to testify to this. One mural strikes a solemn note, showing three deceased women lying in coffins: one of them is Native American, the second is African American, and the third woman is Jewish (Wikipedia.org, 2007). A second example depicts a deceased white girl wearing a watch around her neck and clutching a Bible (Szymanski). The inferred meaning is: “The time is fast approaching for the extermination of the White Race, Christians and Jews” (Szymanski). The third example is steeped in fantasia, depicting a larger-than-life soldier wearing a gas mask while his weapon-bearing hands do bizarre deeds: one hand pieces a sword through the breast of a dove in flight, while the other brandishes a rifle over the heads of a group of women holding babies in their arms {oddly though, the babies are dead} (Wikipedia.org, 2007). 8. Conclusion Although it was began operations relatively late {1995}, DIA has quickly gained prominence in the country as well as the world. It was ranked as the 10th busiest airport in the world in 2005 (Castellino, p.206). The massive airport, roughly double the size of Manhattan (Mills, 2001), has rendered yeoman service to the country. It is unsurprising therefore that DIA was voted as the ‘Best Run Airport in America’ by Time magazine in 2002, an accolade superseded by the ‘Best Airport in North America’ vote by Business Traveller Magazine in 2005. The mention of its name will never cease to bring a delighted smile to the face of the man responsible for initiating the DIA project – former Denver Mayor Federico Pena - because there is no doubt whatsoever that DIA has fully lived up to his ambitious expectations - Pena promised at the time the airport construction was about to begin, that it would be the “largest in the nation” (Castellino, p.12). 9. References Anon. (2007). Airport Management. Retrieved October 25, 2007, from Flydenver.com Web Site: http://www.flydenver.com/diabiz/info/management.asp Anon. (2007). Aviation Facilities: Research Center. Retrieved October 25, 2007, from Flydenver.com Web Site: http://www.flydenver.com/diabiz/info/research/aviation.asp Anon. (2007). Case Study: Denver International Airport Keeps Operations/IT (and Passengers) Flying with Sophisticated Event-Resolution Systems.” Retrieved October 25, 2007, from Datawarehouse.com Web Site: http://www.datawarehouse.com/article/?articleid=7280 Anon. (2007). Denver International Airport. Retrieved October 25, 2007, from Trans Pixs Worldwide Web Site: http://www.transpixs.com/pages/pdia.htm Anon. (2007). Denver International Airport. Retrieved October 25, 2007, from Wikipedia.org Web Site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denver_International_Airport Anon. (2007). Maps & Directions. Retrieved October 25, 2007, from Flydenver.com Web Site: http://www.flydenver.com/maps/index.asp Anon. (2007). Security Screening. Retrieved October 25, 2007, from Flydenver.com Web Site: http://www.flydenver.com/guide/tips/security.asp Castellino, Robert L. (2001). Denver: Gateway to the Rockies. USA: Whispering River Publishers Johnson, Kirk. (2005). Denver Airport to Mangle Last Bag. Retrieved October 26, 2007, from International Herald Tribune Web Site: http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/08/26/news/denver.php Mills, Chad O. (2001). Autodesk Software Keeps Denver’s Airport Flying High. Retrieved October 26, 2007, from Directions Magazine Web Site: http://www.directionsmag.com/article.php?article_id=121&trv=1 Szymanski, Greg. (N.d). Mural at Denver, Colorado Airport. Retrieved October 26, 2007, from Arctic Beacon Investigative Journal Web Site: http://www.arcticbeacon.com/articles/DenverMural/DenverMural.html Read More