Airport Manager Kim Day presented the state of Denver International Airport yesterday, saying DIA continues to grow as a central hub for the nation’s air travelers. However, she says the airport is still seeking an elusive non-stop flight to Tokyo.
Nearly 53 million passengers traveled through DIA last year, making it the 10th busiest airport in the world. With Southwest Airlines building a pilot and flight attendant training facility as well as new nonstop service to Reykjavik via Icelandair, DIA had a positive economic impact to Colorado of over 22 billion dollars.
Helgi Mar Bjorgvinsson Senior Vice President of Iceland Air, says to keep and attract new international service, DIA and Denver must continue to focus on expanding airport infrastructure, attracting Fortune 500 companies, as well as a bit of self-promotion.
“Its very important that you promote this destination, because its not that certain that people would want to come into your area, there’s huge competition in terms of destination marketing and competition.”
Iceland air begins service to Denver in a few months. One of the key goals of DIA going forward this year is securing a trans-pacific flight to Tokyo. Officials with DIA say talks with All Nippon airways are continuing and their optimistic that a Denver-to-Tokyo flight may soon be on the horizon.