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11 12 24 DIA's Michael Konopasek discusses changes that could affect holiday travel
But there's only one feeling like knowing your banker personally, like growing up with a bank you can count on, like being sure what you've earned is safe, secure, and local. There's only one feeling like knowing you're supporting your community. You deserve more from a bank. You deserve an institution that stood strong for generations. Bank of Colorado, there's only one member FDIC. It is Colorado's morning news. Marty Lenz, Gina Gondek, good morning from holiday travel ahead to more construction. So much going on at Denver International Airport. Enjoying us now on the K-Wade Common Spirit Health Hotline to talk more about it is D.N.'s Michael Kannapossik. Michael, thank you so much for your time this morning. Thank you so much for having me. I appreciate it. Absolutely. Let's talk a little bit about the changes that we'll be seeing at DIA in the next couple of, well, actually already underway, the abridged closures that we're seeing. What's the reasoning behind this and what do flyers need to know? Yeah, so starting yesterday, both abridged and Ansbachar Hall, which Ansbachar Hall, by the way, is that area that's just south of the abridged, and the abridged is what takes you to concourse a lot of people are familiar with bridge security. Both of those locations just north of the main terminal, they're going to be closed overnight for construction activities from 6 p.m. to 4 a.m., Monday through Thursday nights through the opening of the East Checkpoint, which is anticipated to be quarter three of 2025. So this is going to be going on well in to next year, and those closures are basically to create what we call in the airport world of sterile area. So once the West security is already done, but once East security is completed, both East and West will funnel into a post security area. And that is what Ansbachar Hall and bridge and abridged will be. Bridge security will then go away. So people who are used to taking that bridge security just know that that is going away. In fact, as soon as December 9th is when that will that will cease to exist. Michael, why this and why now? Yeah, so if you can imagine, and I know there's a lot of construction projects, so people who aren't very familiar with the airport, there is a very helpful map on our website. But when you're on level six and you in that new West security, East security will mirror West security and we want to give folks options. So right now we have those escalators that take people down to the train to get you out to all three concourses, but we also want to give people options to go ahead and walk to concourse A if they so choose. And right now they can't do that because bridge security is your only option to do that. So if you're in West or East, you don't have the option to walk. Once East opens, West and East will funnel into the same area and then opening up that on the back of Holland, abridged to be a sterile area will give people the ability to also walk. What are your best recommendations for travelers who will be traveling during these times, especially like weekdays, it looks like closed overnight for the abridged? Yeah, well thankfully, we're doing this during times when we don't see a lot of travel. So I actually was just in that area last night to observe it, didn't notice too much impact. There's not too many people traveling during those overnight hours, but what I would say is just go ahead and use either the south security which is still there or West security. The good news about these expansions of the security areas, these new security areas is that they're more efficient, they provide more lane, so hopefully there shouldn't be too much of an impact. Michael, I know we're getting close to the holiday travel time. Do we anticipate similar numbers to what we've had say the past year or so? I know we're a little more than two weeks out from Thanksgiving. Yeah, I mean, you know, over the last year we've continued to see numbers as I write these press releases for busy times, we keep using record breaking language for those. So there's no reason to think that that wouldn't continue to be the case. We are growing within the next several years. We expect to serve 100 million annual passengers at Dunbury International Airport. What's the future of DIA look like? What are you hoping to see? And I know we're talking about the current construction, but what's the end goal when all the construction is said and done? Yeah, I mean, that end goal is our ability to serve 100 million annual passengers. And we continue to also look at more gates, you know, the expansion to the concourses. We did recently open up the concourse AE expansion where Frontier's Ground load facility is located and we just continue to look for ways to make sure that we can accommodate all the people that are going to be using our airport. A lot of the construction projects, you know, have already been announced. Others that haven't been announced yet, of course, we're still working on the details on all those, but we hope to have more to share soon. DIA is Michael Kannapasek. Thank you, Michael. Thank you. Take care. There's only one feeling like knowing your banker personally, like growing up with a bank you can count on, like being sure what you've earned is safe, secure and local. There's only one feeling like knowing you're supporting your community. You deserve more from a bank. You deserve an institution that stood strong for generations. Bank of Colorado, there's only one member FDIC.