DENVER — Southwest Airlines has announced plans to begin construction on its first maintenance hangar at DIA this summer. The nearly $100 million investment will allow Southwest’s Mechanics to work on up to three aircraft inside the 130,000-square-foot hangar. There will be parking and facilities outside the hangar for eight additional aircraft. Ground breaking is expected to occur within the next few months and the hangar is anticipated to be completed in late 2020.
The facility can house the 75 Technical Operations Employees currently working in Denver, who are responsible for maintaining Southwest’s all Boeing 737 fleet. Once opened, it will join the six other hangars located in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Orlando, and Phoenix. Overall, Southwest employs more than 4,000 people within its Technical Operations department.
Denver International Airport is one of the carrier’s top five airports in terms of daily departures in its network of more than 100 cities and offers up to 224 daily departures for sale to nearly 70 nonstop destinations. The carrier employs 4,200 People in Denver.
“Southwest Airlines is a vital partner for Denver International Airport, and we are proud the airline has decided to make this significant investment in our city,” Mayor Michael Hancock said in a news release.
According to the Denver Post, Southwest will also get 16 new gates as part of the concourse expansion project underway at DIA. That project will add a total of 39 gates to the airport. The airline currently leases 24 gates in Concourse C.
Rendering courtesy of Southwest Airlines
