Skift Global Forum: Denver Airport CEO on Building the Airport of the Future
Photo Credit: Kim Day, CEO of Denver International Airport. Denver International Airport
Skift Take
Travelers want less human interaction with traditional airport processes but more culinary and cultural experiences to make their time in a terminal well spent. This isn't an easy equation to balance and Denver International Airport is one facility demonstrating it knows what the future holds for airports.
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Airline passengers are telling airports that they want less human interaction with processes like check-in and bag drop, but more experiences like fine dining and shopping that leave them feeling relaxed for their flights.
The challenge for airports is finding the happy medium and creating a customer service model that works for all passengers — tech savvy or not. Denver International Airport is situated in one of the fastest growing metropolitan areas in the U.S., as well as the country's fastest growing tourism market, and this year celebrates the twentieth anniversary since it opened and replaced Stapleton International Airport in 1995. Last year more than 53 million passengers flew through the airport making it one of the world's busiest.
Kim Day has been the airport's CEO since 2008 and since then has helped put plans in motion for a new airport hotel and rail connection to downtown Denver. She was previously executive director of Los Ang
