Summary
- Denver International Airport (DEN) saw a record-breaking June, with 7.6 million passengers boarding aircraft at the airport during the month.
- In total, the airport welcomed 38.9 million passengers in H1 2024.
- However, DEN warned that passenger growth will slow in H2, especially in comparison in H1.
Denver International Airport (DEN) has disclosed that June was its busiest month ever, with the airport celebrating that the number of passengers it had welcomed during the first six months of 2024 was 9.2% higher year-on-year (YoY).
Busiest month ever
The airport announced that from January to June, DEN had welcomed 39.9 million passengers, or 9.2% more than the 36.6 million travelers who crossed the airport’s terminals during the same period in 2023.
Meanwhile, June was the airport’s busiest month ever. During the month, 7.6 million passengers traveled through DEN.
Photo: Denver International Airport
According to Phil Washington, the chief executive officer (CEO) of DEN, passenger growth has been the focus of the airport’s Vision 100 strategic plan. That was why the airport and its employees have been working hard to maintain the current traffic levels and grow its infrastructure simultaneously.
“It’s why as we expand our global connections, we must also empower our people to help us execute our ambitious vision for the future.”
Washington, who was the former candidate to become the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), thanked the airport’s airline and concessionaire partners for their investments in DEN, its passengers, and its employees.
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International network growth
DEN detailed that during the first six months of 2024, the growth of international traffic has outpaced general growth, with 17.2% more passengers traveling outside of the US from DEN in H1 2024.
During that period, DEN welcomed three new international airlines and their respective routes, with Aer Lingus opening flights to Dublin Airport (DUB), Turkish Airlines to Istanbul Airport (IST), and Viva Aerobus to Monterrey International Airport (MTY).
In addition, United Airlines, which has identified DEN as one of its main hubs, began flying from the airport to Winnipeg Richardson International Airport (YWG), Canada.
Photo: Denver International Airport
However, while H1 was full of fanfare for DEN, the airport warned that while its passenger number growth could slow during the second half of the year, especially in comparison to the first six months of 2024.
“Based on current scheduled capacity for the second half of 2024, DEN estimates 2024 annual passenger volume to be between 81 to 82 million passengers.”
DEN highlighted that Airports Council International (ACI) data showed that during the first five months of 2024, it was the third busiest airport behind Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (ATL) and Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW).
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The new flight will operate thrice weekly and will increase to four times weekly next month.
DEN’s international network
Data from the aviation analytics company Cirium showed that airlines have scheduled 328 weekly flights from DEN to international destinations outside of the US, with Cancún International Airport (CUN) and Vancouver International Airport (YVR) being the most popular destinations, with 42 weekly flights in July.
Photo: Nate Hovee | Shutterstock
Other popular destinations include Calgary International Airport (YYC, 29 weekly flights), Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ, 28 weekly flights), and London Heathrow Airport (LHR, 21 weekly flights).
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