干旱区生态环境知识资源中心

The new pound 2.7 billion Denver International Airport in the US state of Colorado is the biggest in the world, Its five 3660 m runways and 420 300 m(2) terminal complex occupy a vast 13 600 ha desert site 37 km from Denver city centre. Completed in 1995 to replace the notoriously congested Stapleton airport, the new facility can handle 640 000 aircraft movements and 50 million passengers a year with zero delays, maximum safety and minimal environmental impact. It is also the only airport in the world that can land three aircraft simultaneously under instrument flight rules, This paper reports on the planning, design, construction and first year’s operation of this state-of-the-art transport facility.