Denver International LOI Announcement

Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you.

It doesn’t take much to see what all the excitement’s about around here. I’ve just had an opportunity to walk around and see all the construction that’s going on with the new concourses. The Mayor was telling me how fast the city’s growing, and Denver International is keeping pace, right alongside.

Over the last few years, DIA’s been moving up the list of the nation’s busiest airports. Today it stands just five positions away from Number One, behind only Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth and LAX.

Good news, indeed, but there’s a downside to all of this growth. There’s very little elbow room around the end of the A and C concourses. When planes are taxiing in and out of the gates, some of them have to come to a full stop to make their way around the parked aircraft. We can make that safer.

When the two concourses are eventually expanded, it’s going to mean even more planes, more gates and more potential for delays. That’s a congestion issue.

At the FAA, we’re all about finding safety and congestion solutions. That’s why it gives me great pleasure to announce that we’re committing $28 million over the next six years to construct two new aprons near concourses A and C, the two most congested wings of the three.

This will provide that extra bit of elbow room to keep the taxiing lanes cleared of parked aircraft. That means more safety and capacity.

When all is said and done, the total cost will be about $59 million. The FAA is stepping up and covering about half of that, because this is about DIA keeping in step with Denver’s reputation as the city everyone wants to visit and do business.

That’s why a project of this magnitude can’t afford to take years to complete. The plan is to start construction later this month and be finished by early spring, before the first snowflake of 2009 hits the ground.

I have to admit, the week after the Fourth of July hardly sounds like a time to be thinking about snow. But as the city knows all too well, you’ve got to be ready for whatever Mother Nature throws at you, and that’s another benefit of the new aprons.

They’ll give DIA more flexibility to handle aircraft on the ground, even with reduced runway capacity, when the next blizzard hits. Snow removal will be quicker and easier, too, with the extra space that the aprons will afford.

Our efforts will complement what Denver’s doing to avoid a repeat of 2006, when the airport was shut down for almost two days. We’ve all learned a valuable lesson from that, and now’s the time to turn those lessons into concrete action.

The city is already getting almost $30 million of the best snow removal equipment money can buy, which should be a clear message to anyone that the city’s prepared for when the next big one hits.Congratulations, Denver. Being ready, being pro-active.

Those are key when you’re Denver International and you’re closing in on Number One. Thank you.

Fonte: FAA Speeches 15/7/2008.