Southwest Airlines plans to double the number of gates it will use at Denver International Airport by June, allowing the carrier to operate as many as 40 daily flights from Denver.
Southwest has gates C43 and C45 on DIA’s C concourse and will add gate C41 on Wednesday and gate C47 on June 1, according to a Denver City Council ordinance request. The expansion is subject to approval, and details are still being negotiated.
The airline has 13 daily flights from Denver but hopes to triple that number, said Southwest spokeswoman Edna Ruano.
From Denver, it has nonstop flights to Phoenix, Las Vegas and Chicago Midway. On March 4 it will add more flights, including new routes from Denver to Baltimore and Salt Lake City, bringing its daily Denver departure count to 20.
The carrier has also started some Saturday flights from Denver to Oakland, Calif., and San Diego.
If approved, the gate request would increase the amount Southwest pays to the city from about $5.3 million to nearly $6.3 million annually.
It also includes 1,586 square feet of new ticket-office space to replace temporary ticket-office space of 720 square feet. Southwest’s contract lasts from 2006 through 2010.
Staff writer Kelly Yamanouchi can be reached at 303-820-1488 or kyamanouchi@denverpost.com.
