Denver’s nonstop international flights will increase this winter and Denver International Airport officials anticipate global connections will push DIA’s annual traffic above 100 million passengers sooner than expected with a projected record-high 82 million passengers this year.

The new flights will carry travelers to Mexico, France and Iceland.

They build on the launch earlier this year of a 13-hour nonstop flight from Denver to Istanbul, Turkey. DIA officials have prioritized the expansion of international flights and they’re exploring more routes, including one linking Denver with Ethiopia, increased flights to Japan, and a nonstop flight to Amsterdam.

International air travel increased by 17.2% during the first half of 2024 compared with 2023, a factor in the overall increase from 77 million passengers in 2023 to a projected 82 million, DIA chief executive Phil Washington told city council members this month. A monthly record 7.6 million passengers boarded planes at DIA in June. “We think we might break the June record around the Labor Day time frame,” Washington said.

DIA officials have been planning on 100 million passengers a year as soon as 2027. The airport was built to accommodate 50 million. Current construction includes the installation of an expanded, 17-lane security checkpoint.

Starting this winter, DIA  will offer 14% more flights to European destinations.

Here’s the expanded service travelers will see, according to information provided by DIA communications manager Michael Konopasek:

— Air France nonstop flights to Paris. The summer seasonal service will expand to year-round service with flights three days a week between November and March

— Icelandair nonstop flights to Reykjavik. Icelandair Air will run flights on four days a week from January through mid-February, then ramp up to five days a week through the end of winter, increasing to as many as 11 flights a week during peak summer months. In recent years, Icelandair didn’t run flights between early January and late March.

— Aeromexico will add a flight to Monterrey, Mexico starting on Dec. 21 (one day a week on Saturdays through mid-April). This adds to the Viva Aerobus nonstop service between Denver and Monterrey.

“It’s a big deal,” Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce president J.J. Ament said. The new flights “show that we continue to emerge as a place where you can do business around the world, taking advantage of Colorado’s highly-trained workforce and deploying it globally,” Ament said.

“The airlines wouldn’t be doing this if the routes were not performing economically. And it is a testament to the vision our airport officials have for the future.”

DIA is the third busiest airport in the United States and the sixth-busiest in the world, with passenger numbers increasing from 69 million in 2019, according to the latest data from the Airports Council International.

Originally Published: August 28, 2024 at 6:00 a.m.