At age 10, Denver airport says its tarnished image is history

DENVER — What a difference a decade makes.

Denver International Airport, with its white-peaked roof visible over miles of rolling prairie, opened in 1995, more than a year late, after racking up hefty budget overruns. It was criticized for high operating costs — and ridiculed because of an automated baggage system that chewed up bags rather than delivering them.

Fast-forward to October 2005 as low-cost giant Southwest Airlines — which has the reputation of boosting traffic and revenue for airports — said it would start service here Jan. 3 after repeatedly refusing to fly out of DIA.

It was the icing on a years-long effort to turn DIA into one of the most efficient airports in the world.

"I don't think back to those dark days," DIA co-manager Vicki Braunagel said. "I actually feel privileged to have been a part of it from the beginning."

Aviation industry analysts credit DIA for cutting costs by about half in the past 10 years, and note its expansive layout is easy to maneuver in for pilots and travelers.

"It's probably one of the best-managed airports in the country," acknowledged analyst Mike Boyd of The Boyd Group, long an outspoken DIA critic. "They understand they are in business to service the public.

"I will argue it was bad policy to build it, but that is kind of a moot point right now," he said.

City planners began thinking about a new airport 30 years ago when they realized Stapleton International Airport was congested, its cramped runway system vulnerable to winter storms that forced delays. Critics said it was too small for a regional hub and expansion possibilities were limited.

Planners settled on 53 square miles some 25 miles northeast of downtown for the new airport. The largest public works project in Colorado history was billed as a way to pull the Rockies region out of an economic slump brought on by the oil and gas bust of the 1980s.

Voters approved a referendum in 1989 for a $2 billion facility and ground was broken that year with an opening scheduled in October 1993.

The problems quickly began to mount.