Denver International Airport (DIA) Free Essay Example, 3500 words

Although scheduled to be ready in four years’ time, the project extended to five and a half years due to a series of delays (Wikipedia. org, 2007). The first delay was the result of improper planning and frequent design alterations to adapt to United Airlines’ fluctuating needs (Wikipedia. org, 2007). African American Mayor Wellington Edward Webb {term as Mayor: 1991 to 2001} (Castellino, p.33), Pena’s successor, was constrained to modify the opening day from October 29, 1993 to March 1994. The second delay, spawned by a September 1993 strike by specialized carpenters, gave rise to derisive misinterpretations of the DIA initials such as ‘Delayed Indefinitely Airport’ and ‘Denver’s Imaginary Airport’. Mayor Webb was forced to push back the date of scheduled opening to May 15, 1994. The third delay was caused in April 1994 by the gross malfunctioning of a newly installed computerized baggage facility in DIA. The facility continued to be regularly problematic, due to which it was terminated in September 2005 (Wikipedia. org, 2007) and replaced by manual baggage handling crew of 1,300 persons (Johnson, 2007). We will write a custom essay sample on Denver International Airport (DIA) or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/pageorder now The final preparations for opening day took place on September 25, 1994 when DIA invited Federal Aviation Administration {FAA} controllers and a large number of general aviation aircraft to try out its facilities and procedures. The success of this exercise literally laid the red carpet for the official opening ceremony on February 28, 1995. By that time, the total construction cost incurred was $ 5.2 billion {3.2 billion original budgets plus 2 billion excess} (Wikipedia. org, 2007). 2. AIRPORT ORGANIZATION CHART Ownership of DIA rests totally with the City of Denver. Under the umbrella of the City Charter, Denver’s Department of Aviation manages and controls day-to-day operations at DIA. In compliance with the terms of the Constitution of Colorado, the City of Denver has conferred on the Department of Aviation the power of ‘enterprise, ’ whereby it can officially issue revenue bonds or other monetary obligations in the name of the City of Denver. The mayor of Denver selects the manager of the Department of Aviation, with the latter expected to formally report directly to the former. There are about 1,000 city employees in the Department of Aviation. Turner West is the current manager of the department, having been appointed to the post in March 2006 by Mayor John Hickenlooper. In addition to overseeing all airport activities, Turner West has been allocated extra responsibilities associated with airport engineering, building and layout arrangements (Flydenver. com, 2007 ).