500 Flight Cancellations Reported At DIA, Westin Hotel Completely Full
DENVER (CBS4) - The Denver International Airport reported approximately 500 cancellations and up to four-hour delays on Tuesday due to blowing snow, bringing big business to the new Westin Hotel.
Seven inches had accumulated by 10:20 a.m. and snow is expected to continue falling through the early afternoon.
Hundreds of travelers waited in line for hours to re-book or find another flight leaving DIA after hundreds of cancellations and hours of delays.
"It's tough, we've been waiting here for a long time," one passenger told CBS4's Suzanne McCarroll after he hadn't moved in more than an hour while waiting to re-book his ticket.
Some passengers even decided to sleep on the floor of the airport to try to catch an early flight on Wednesday.
"I'm staying here. I was supposed to go back to Missouri but my flight was canceled," one traveler told McCarroll.
Travelers were advised to give themselves extra time and to check flight statuses.
Pena Boulevard was closed briefly for snow removal at 6:30 a.m. but reopened 30 minutes later. Crews continued to clear the snow but drivers were warned to expect winter conditions.
Passengers are urged to check their flight status at flydenver.com before driving to the airport.
At 7:30 p.m. DIA was reporting wait still at approximately 3 1/2 hours.
Stranded passengers completely filled up rooms at the new Westin Hotel at the airport with some paying more than $500 for a room.
"We are picking up reservations as you would expect as people's travel plans get affected," said Tom Curley with Westin DIA.
Many hotel employees were not able to make it to work because of the snow and the hotel was still able to make accommodations. It was the first major winter storm to hit DIA since the hotel opened last month. According to the hotel's website, rooms will be available Wednesday morning starting at $379.
DIA sees approximately 1,500 flights daily.
Additional Information From DIA
About Snow Removal at DIA:
• The airport property spans 34,000 acres (53 square miles/137.8 square kilometers)
• DIA contains approximately 300 lane miles of roads (more than the distance from Denver to the Utah border)
• The airport has 30 acres of parking lots with more than 40,000 public parking spaces (more than 23 football fields)
• DIA melts the snow that is cleared from the ramp areas near aircraft gates. DIA has two different types of melters – 10 melters that melt 600 tons of snow per hour, and one that melts 150 tons an hour.
• By using multi-function pieces of equipment and making other improvements to snow management, the airport has reduced the average amount of time needed to clear a runway from 45 minutes in 2006 to under 15 minutes today. DIA has six runways:
o Five are 12,000 feet in length (3,600 meters) and 150 feet wide
o One is 16,000 feet in length (4,800 meters) and 200 feet wide, and is the longest commercial runway in North America
Travel Tips for Passengers:
• Travelers should check their flight status before leaving for the airport with their airline or on www.flydenver.com
• Motorists should drive with caution and allow extra time when heading to the airport.
• A good rule of thumb is to be inside the airport two hours prior to flight departure time. This should allow for plenty of time to navigate flight check-in, security lines and travel to the gate.
• Garages often become full during inclement weather. Passengers can guarantee a reserved parking spaces in the garages by visiting www.DIAreservedparking.com and check parking availability at www.flydenver.com
• Passengers who have time inside the airport before a flight can use new digital directories positioned throughout the concourses to help navigate the airport or find dining, shops, massages and other services. Passengers can also stop by one of five life-sized postcards as part of the airport's "Wish You Were Here" installation.
Westin is full some more than 400
Rooms are going to open at tomorrow with the lowest rate starting a 379
