Denver International Airport (DEN) will add 11 gates to Concourse C as air traffic increases in the Mile High City.
The $700 million extension to the western end of C, also known as “C-West,” will add 400,000 more square feet to the concourse for the 11 gates and new concessions, as well as a new outdoor patio with panoramic views of the Rocky Mountains.
The project is part of the “DEN”Vision 100“program to expand airport facilities to accommodate an expected 100 million annual passengers over the next decade. DEN handled a record 82.4 million travelers in 2024.
Denver City Council’s Transportation and Infrastructure committee approved a project management contract for the extension on Dec. 17, bringing the project one step closer to reality.
The C-West extension comes three years after DEN completed a 39-door expansion across its three concourses. Those doors were taken by Southwest Airlines and united airlines to support its rapidly growing hubs at the airport.
Phil Washington, CEO of DEN, could not say which airline would occupy the 11 new C-West gates.
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“We have a waiting list for doors, for these 11 doors,” he told the City Council committee on Dec. 17. “Airlines want to grow and that waiting list is what we have now.”
Southwest or United are the most likely beneficiaries, as they drive much of DEN’s traffic growth. Southwest, the largest tenant in Concourse C, could expand into the new gates, or Delta Air Lines could move out of Concourse A, allowing United to expand its presence in A.
United executives have said publicly that they want grow the airline’s DEN center about 700 daily departures. With only around 575 departures scheduled for June 2026, according to data from aviation analytics firm Cirium, the airline has significant growth in DEN ahead.
DEN is inundated with expansion works. The final phase of the process delayed and renovation over budget of the airport’s main terminal, which includes a new “living room“off-security area: will open in 2027. Design is underway on a new United Polaris salon. Other improvements and updates are also underway.
A DEN spokesperson said the airport has not determined the timeline for the C-West extension. The project is part of the airport’s capital plan through 2035.
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