The largest airport in North America, comprising in excess of 52 square miles, will soon see the construction of an extensive airline maintenance hangar.
The 130,000 square foot facility at the Denver International Airport will belong to Southwest Airlines, one of the nearly two dozen airlines flying in and out of the airport daily.
Announcement of the project by Southwest Airline chief executive officer Gary Kelly represents a poignant victory for the airport: more than three decades ago the airline quit its operations in Denver due to cost issues.
Not until 2006 did the Dallas-based airline resume flights in and out of the Mile High City, now logging 224 daily operations out of Denver.
In hailing Southwest’s announcement, Denver Mayor Michael Hancock called the airline a “vital partner for the Denver International Airport.”
As planned, the new hangar will be large enough to house at any given time three twinjets.
There will also be room just outside the new hangar for up to eight more jets.
Altogether, the project is expected to cost at least $150 million to build, with work beginning later this summer.
Denver International Airport is currently the home to nearly two dozen airlines, including Frontier Airlines and United Airlines.
Frontier, Southwest, and United represent roughly 85 percent of the Denver airport’s operations.
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