Denver Airport

24/7 donuts at Denver Airport’s new cell-phone lot

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Construction is underway at Denver International Airport to replace the old cell phone lot with a service oasis called “Final Approach.”

DEN AIRPORT NEW LOT

Rendering of Denver International Airport’s new cell-phone waiting lot and amenity oasis.

 

According to airport spokesman Heath Montgomery, the new waiting lot will be across from the original lot and have 269 parking spaces as well as free Wi-Fi, a kid’s play area, indoor seating complete with iPads built into tables, indoor restrooms and flight info boards in the parking lot and inside.

There will also be four new restaurants: a 24-hour drive-thru Dunkin’ Donuts, a Subway, a Baja Fresh Mexican Grill and a ZPizza, which will have organic ingredients and gluten-free option on the menu.

Opening day is set for sometime in September.

Two unscheduled landings; two different reasons

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An Alaska Airlines plane flying from Los Angeles to Seattle with 116 passengers and five crew members on board had to make an emergency landing in Portland, Oregon Thursday night because the pilot lost consciousness.

According to an airline spokesperson, the co-pilot declared an emergency and landed Flight 473 safely.  Medical personnel  met the airplane on the runway and the pilot was taken to the hospital. The plane continued on later to Seattle with a new pilot. (A few more details here.)

The reason for the diversion of a JetBlue flight on Thursday night was a bit different: according to the Denver Post, JetBlue flight 185 from New York’s JFK airport on route to San Diego was diverted to Denver International Airport because of an unruly female passenger. The woman was escorted off the plane and met by police, but as of late Thursday night it was unknown if the woman was arrested.

 

 

 

Denver International Airport going smoke-free

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George Eastman House, via Flickr Commons

According to the American Nonsmokers’ Rights Foundation, indoor smoking is completely banned at 27 of the top 35 U.S. airports.

Make that 28. Well, almost.

Denver International Airport (DIA), which currently has four indoor smoking lounges, announced Friday that three of those smoking areas will be shutting down.

According to a statement from the airport, two concessionaires, Airport Lounges and Quiz-DIA, have agreed to close the three smoking lounges they currently operate by the end of the year. The fourth lounge, Timberline, operated by Smokin’ Bear, LLC, will shut down after its lease expires in 2018.

Two Aviator’s Lounges will close this year: the one in Jeppesen Terminal and the one on the B Concourse. The Jeppesen Terminal lounge will become a Jamba Juice and the B Concourse lounge will re-open as a barbecue restaurant called the Aviator’s Sports Bar.

The third lounge to be closed is inside the Mesa Verde Restaurant and Bar on the A Concourse. Mesa Verde will be remodeled to offer extra seating.

The fourth indoor smoking lounge – inside Timberline Steaks & Grill on Concourse C – will stay open until 2018.

After that: no smoking at Denver International Airport.

Here’s a link to a (long) list of other U.S. airports that ban smoking.

What do you think: should ALL airports ban smoking?

 

 

Woman smokes & strips at Denver Airport

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A woman caught smoking in a nonsmoking area of Denver International Airport on Tuesday responded by putting out her cigarette and taking off her clothes.

Around 8:45 a.m., after being asked to extinguish her cigarette, the woman stripped naked in the B Concourse.

“The woman told officers that she’d had no sleep the night before,” said Raquel Lopez, spokesperson for the Denver Police Department.

The woman was taken in for a medical evaluation. “No one was arrested, no one was hurt and no report was filed,” Lopez said.

Police and paramedics responded and “the woman was ultimately transported to a local hospital,” said Laura Coale, Denver International’s director of media relations.

There are four smoking lounges at Denver International airport, including two Aviator’s Club Smoking Lounge locations, but there is no clothing-optional area, Coale said, nor are there plans to create one anytime soon.

(A slightly different version of this story originally appeared msnbc.com.)