The airport's east economy lot filled Tuesday. The west one? The savvy bet says today. Officials urge departing passengers to arrive two hours early. Denver International Airport expects nearly a million passengers will use the airport this week, making it the busiest Thanksgiving period in DIA history.
Airport officials estimate about 967,000 passengers will fly in and out of DIA through Monday. DIA predicts 170,331 passengers will use the airport Sunday, making it the busiest single day ever at DIA, said airport spokesman Chuck Cannon.
Some lots at DIA began filling up Tuesday afternoon. The east economy lot filled shortly after noon and the west economy lot was expected to be full by today. The economy lots flank DIA’s parking garages and have a total of 8,183 spaces.
DIA’s satellite Pikes Peak parking lot along Peña Boulevard, which has about 9,000 spaces, also was full Tuesday, so the airport sent travelers to its Mt. Elbert overflow lot. Mt. Elbert has about 8,700 spaces; travelers must prepay $5 a day. Shuttle buses ferry Mt. Elbert and Pikes Peak customers to and from the terminal.
In all, DIA has about 38,500 parking spaces, including nearly 12,700 in the east- and west-side garages. Garage parking costs $18 a day; during holiday periods, there usually is space available in the garages.
There also are numerous privately operated parking lots in the vicinity of the airport.
Some travelers skip their own drive to DIA and prefer to take RTD’s skyRide bus service.
“This is the most convenient way to get there; you don’t have to deal with parking,” said Aaron Dunbar, who was boarding the AF skyRide bus at the Market Street station in downtown Denver on Tuesday afternoon. He was flying to Seattle.
With the opening of the Regional Transportation District’s southeast rail line last week, air travelers have some new options for connecting with skyRide buses.
RTD’s AT bus to DIA stops at the Arapahoe and Nine Mile stations on the new train line.
When transferring from light rail to skyRide, RTD riders can use their light-rail ticket as a credit toward the skyRide fare.
Transportation Security Administration officials urged air travelers to be in DIA’s terminal at least two hours before their flight during the busy holiday travel period.
Security screening wait times Tuesday afternoon ranged from 10 to 15 minutes.
TSA instituted a liquid/gel ban in August after a plot to bring liquid explosive components in Britain was foiled by authorities.
The ban later was modified to allow air travelers to bring liquids and gels aboard planes in 3-ounce or smaller containers, all in a 1-quart clear plastic zip-top bag.
Each passenger may put only one such bag in the plastic bin for screening, said TSA spokeswoman Carrie Harmon.
“We are fully staffed,” she said, “and we have extra personnel to help educate the public about liquid and gel rules before they get to security checkpoints.”
Staff writer Jeffrey Leib can be reached at 303-954-1645 or jleib@denverpost.com.
