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  Denver International Airport

  IATA/ICAO Code:

  DEN/KDEN

  Country:

  United States

  CEO:

  Phillip A. Washington

  Passenger Count :

  58,828,552 (2021)

  Runways :

  7/25 - 3,658m (12,000 ft) | 8/26 - 3,658m (12,000 ft) | 16L/34R - 3,658m (12,000 ft) | 16R/34L - 4,877m (16,000 ft) | 17L/35R - 3,658m (12,000 ft) | 17R/35L - 3,658m (12,000 ft)

Frontier Airlines and Denver International Airport today celebrated construction beginning on a new 120,000-square-foot ground boarding facility. The project involves remodeling an 83,000 square-foot space on the east end of Concourse A at Denver International Airport and building a 37,000 square-foot addition. The expanded facility will feature 14 gates, new customer amenities, and an adjacent 8,000-square-foot maintenance facility.

Increasing activity

The airline has been increasing steadily in Denver. It is now the third-largest operator at the airport with a 9.1% market share, following only United Airlines and Southwest Airlines in terms of seat capacity. Simple Flying previously reported Frontier would offer 387,075 departure seats from DEN in August 2022, up 342% from last year. The groundbreaking ceremony was attended by Frontier President and CEO Barry Biffle, Denver International Airport CEO Phil Washington, and City of Denver Councilwoman Stacie Gilmore. The group was joined by Frontier Airlines mascot Griz the Grizzly Bear to break ground for the new extension. Frontier Airlines CEO, Barry Biffle, expressed his excitement to be working with the airport to improve customer experience:

“We’re thrilled to join with our partners at Denver International Airport and the City of Denver to break ground on this new facility, which will provide a beautiful, convenient, customer-centric experience for departing and arriving Frontier passengers.”

"As Colorado’s hometown airline, we are excited to further grow our commitment to the Denver community and beyond and offer an exceptional customer experience at DEN.”

The new 8,000-square-foot maintenance facility will be used for personnel and to increase storage for necessary repair and replacement parts close to the gates.

The Frontier concourse expansion

The addition will house a selection of new customer improvements, including personal electronic charging stations, a nursing room, a pet relief area, and a customer service center alongside refreshed food and retail operations. The entire facility is scheduled to be complete and operational by mid-2024, and customers will use escalators to transit from the existing Concourse A to the new ground-level facility.

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Strong links

The new facility expands on the airport's relationship with Frontier to offer the airline exclusive branding rights in the new facility and preferential use and scheduling rights for the 14 gates. The nine gates previously occupied by Frontier further up the concourse are likely to be offered to other carriers requiring a jetbridge. The new ground-level boarding enables the airline and ground crew to utilize air stairs and switchback ramps to board from both the front and back doors. Boarding the airplane simultaneously from both the front and rear doors is a relatively common practice which the airport suggests will cut boarding and deplaning times in half.

"Frontier has served the Denver community for 28 years and has been a tremendous partner to DEN," said Phil Washington, Chief Executive of Denver International Airport, highlighting the airport's longstanding connection with Frontier. "The extension of our ground load facility will allow Frontier and DEN to continue to grow, providing more options for travelers. We are thankful for their continued commitment to the airport and community and we look forward to welcoming Frontier passengers for many years to come."

Frontier Airlines recently showed its continued investment in Denver with the announcement last month of a daily service to Houston Hobby Airport (HOU) aboard an Airbus A320.