Denver International Airport set another record for passenger traffic in August, in spite of the effects of the foiled United Kingdom terrorist plot and tighter security.
August was the 16th month in a row of monthly passenger records for DIA. More than 4.3 million passengers used the airport, up 5.1 percent from the 4.1 million travelers in August 2005.
That was the smallest monthly increase this year for the airport. Still, it was the busiest summer ever for DIA, with 12.3 million passengers in June, July and August.
“I think it continues to be the relatively low fares, the relatively good economy,” said DIA spokesman Chuck Cannon. “People have money to spend, and they’re traveling.”
For the year through August, DIA passenger traffic increased 9.6 percent, with nearly 32.4 million passengers. That’s up from 29.5 million travelers during the same period a year ago.
DIA said it is on track to set another record for passenger traffic this year. Last year, 43.4 million passengers used the airport. A 9.6 percent increase for 2006 would total more than 47 million.
DIA was initially built for 50 million travelers annually, with the ability to add gates and concourses. The airport is updating its master plan and considering additions to the airport in coming years, including the potential for eight more gates on Concourse C.
Southwest Airlines, which started flying out of Denver in January, is on Concourse C and in August was the third-largest carrier at DIA with a 4.4 percent market share. It bypassed American Airlines for the No. 3 spot but is still significantly smaller than United Airlines and Frontier Airlines, the first- and second-largest carriers at DIA.
Some airlines saw weaker results last month than in August, when British authorities announced they had foiled a plot to blow up international flights with liquid explosives. In September, Frontier’s planes were 67.6 percent full, down from 71 percent a year earlier. United Airlines had a decline in load factors year-over-year in both August and September.
“There is now a slowing trend in the airline-recovery story,” said Roger King, a senior analyst for CreditSights, in a report this week.
Airlines “discounted more than expected, in an effort to maintain traffic levels” after the London terrorism scare Aug. 10, according to Calyon Securities analyst Ray Neidl in a report Thursday.
Staff writer Kelly Yamanouchi can be reached at 303-954-1488 or kyamanouchi@ denverpost.com.
