Denver airport has great connectivity, tons of gates and big terminals. There’s a lot of competition, though United is increasingly vanquishing Southwest there. Frontier helps keep fares down to some destinations at certain times of day.
Because the airport’s footprint is so large, it can expand runways, ramps, terminal space etc. And there’s plenty of clubs! They have American and Denver clubs, 3 large United Clubs plus the Club Fly minimart concept. And there’s both an American Express and Capital One lounge. (They lack for Chase and Priority Pass lounges, however.)
I like connecting in Denver. I hate flying in and out of Denver. The airport is nowhere near the city. Even with recent changes, TSA can be a terrible mess – one of the worst in the country. Gates aren’t walkable from the central terminal, and the train you’re forced to take breaks down regularly.
DEN trains down again. TSA not sending any more passengers down to the platform, due to crowding. pic.twitter.com/s6tM9XU21y
— JonNYC (@xJonNYC) October 16, 2025
This was a badly designed airport that was a white elephant from the start, and it’s poorly run. Despite long-term known issues with the train they just can’t seem to make it better. Earlier this week, the car ran with its doors open and passengers inches from the edge between the main terminal and A concourse.
The airport blamed a passenger for this, but the train is built so that it shouldn’t be possible and the fail safes… failed.
@keelyhanson306 For licensing or usage, contact licensing at viralhog.com. Just cruising on the train with the doors open#denverinternationalairport #osha ♬ original sound
Train malfunctins date back to the opening of the airport 29 years ago, with multiple interruptions over the early weeks of the airport. In 1998 A loose train wheel damaged a routing cable in the tunnel, cutting power and causing a 7-hour outage with 30% of United’s flights affected.
More recently, a deflated tire and failed wheel hub caused the car to drop and drag on the track, damaging the power rail with passengers off-loaded into the tunnels and a damaged switch plate on the running surface between B and C forced one-track operations and alternating directions, causing delays.
But it’s not just the train. The airport’s opening was delayed 16 months and an extra $1.3 billion in costs incurred because the automated baggage system suffered mechanical and software failures and was largely abandoned in favor of manual systems.
The current Great Hall terminal renovation project has been in turmoil since 2017. The contract for it was terminated in 2019. Audits showed mismanagement and poor project management exploding the scope. Poor management is a frequent theme at the airport, not to mention ethics challenges.
The head of Denver International Airport is Phillip A. Washington. He’s been in place since July 2021, long enough that the airport’s current problems – and failure to fix known issues – lie at his feet. He was nominated in July, 2022 by President Biden to serve as FAA Administrator. Given the important safety role that agency plays he was, thankfully, not confirmed.
The DIA train is horrendous even when it works. It’s overcrowded and will be even worse with a concourse D in the future.
I wonder if the Boring company could make another tunnel and walkway without surface disruption to the airport.
The blue state blues.
As a resident of Colorado Springs I will do everything I can to avoid flying out of DIA.
Well, it does have that gateway to hell myth and vibe.
I rode the train at Denver twice early this summer. Thankfully, there were no problems!!!
Considering that the former Stapleton Airport site redevelopments haven’t been particularly successful, is it possible to rebuild a properly-designed airport there? Asking for a city…
I remember working in the industry back then. The building and opening took so long that was privately called it “Denver’s Imaginary Airport.” Seems the train system goes into and out of “imaginary” on a regular basis even now.