Southwest Airlines Hopes to Make Denver Its Busiest Airport With 100 New Flights

Southwest Airlines hopes to add as many as 100 flights a day as part of gate expansions at Denver International Airport -- a move that would make the Colorado city the busiest in the carrier's network.Dallas-based Southwest Airlines notified officials at Denver International Airport that the company wants 16 new gates being constructed as part of a $1.5 billion expansion at the facility. In all, Denver International is adding 39 gates and should start opening at the end of 2020.Southwest now operates 200 to 225 flights a year out of Denver. The move would give the airline nearly 300 daily flights there and surpass Chicago Midway, which has about 265 flights a day from Southwest. The airline operates 195 daily flights from its Dallas Love Field base."As the economy in Denver grows, the desire for more air traffic grows too," said Southwest spokesman Dan Landson. "Secondarily, the location of Denver is great to help people connect east."Denver has become an important stop for Southwest since it started there in 2006, not only as a West Coast gateway but for traffic, which is growing at a rate of about 5% a year. Southwest's first flight from Love Field after the Wright Amendment lifted in 2014 was to Denver.  Continue reading...