I flew in and out of Denver International Airport (DIA) on 21 and 26 Aug 2024, respectively, and since this location was my final destination, I didn't get to see much of the airport during my arrival. Nonetheless, when I arrived, it was a little mind-numbing while attempting to find our baggage claim carousel because it was announced as one number (I don't recall the number...maybe 6?), but when my daughter and I were walking in baggage claim, that number didn't exist; it was under construction. I thought I was going crazy at first or just tired because I didn't understand how I could've missed the number. We walked back and forth between 5 and 7 many times wondering if we were getting "Punk'd" or something because that carousel did not exist. Needless to say, after 3 rounds of back and forth walking, I finally stopped at a service desk in the baggage claim area and asked the question. Not to my surprise, they changed the carousel number to an operating carousel, which happened to be right next to us while I was talking to the service agent.

The interesting thing about DIA for me was that the last time I came here was back in Nov 1997 and although I didn't remember much about this airport during that visit, I do recall this airport being one of the nicest ones I've experienced back then. Granted, back then, I didn't travel as much so I didn't have many airports to compare this to. I distinctly remember seeing snow on the mountains when I first visited DIA, which was a refreshing sight considering I wasn't used to seeing that growing up. Plus, it was a great transition for me since I was heading to Anchorage, Alaska. Fast forward to my recent visit (Aug 2024), I would say that overall, I like DIA. Is this my favorite airport of all time or even within my top 5 airports in this world? No. But this airport does provide a significant amount of stores and restaurants to travelers and even employees. Not to mention, the architecture, décor, comfort level, and most of all, the views are phenomenal.

I wasn't a fan of the tram not having adequate air conditioning especially if you're having to travel all the way to C gates from the ticket/check-in counter...or, vice versa (from C gates to baggage claim). Also, trying to locate the Southwest Airlines ticket counter was kind of a nightmare. Normally I navigate pretty well in an airport and can find everything within a reasonable time; however, for that airlines, it was sort of a mystery and it took me asking someone to finally discover where it was located. Also, I don't know if I just missed it (high possibility since I am getting older), but I don't recall seeing a Southwest sign outside to determine which part of the terminal to enter. These are the departure doors you see as you enter from one of the "islands" outside (I was walking in from the rental car island).

Similar to other big city/busy airports in this country, you have to get familiarized with the layout to understand its flow. Some make sense, yet some make you scratch your head while wondering, "Who in the world designed this layout...or better yet, who approved of it?" I think with better signage, DIA could be one of those premier airport destinations that many people would love to travel to. That along with lesser delayed flights could be monumental for travelers out of Denver and its surrounding areas.