{"id":30480,"date":"2023-11-25T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-11-25T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/40000-people-work-at-denver-international-airport-here-are-a-few-of-the-faces-you-may-meet-and-their-advice-for-travelers\/"},"modified":"2023-11-25T13:00:00","modified_gmt":"2023-11-25T13:00:00","slug":"40000-people-work-at-denver-international-airport-here-are-a-few-of-the-faces-you-may-meet-and","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/40000-people-work-at-denver-international-airport-here-are-a-few-of-the-faces-you-may-meet-and\/","title":{"rendered":"40,000 people work at Denver International Airport. Here are a few of the faces you may meet \u2013 and their advice for travelers"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Medferyashwork
Medferyashwork Dawd, seen here on Nov. 1, 2023, works at Hudson News at Denver International Airport. (Hart Van Denburg\/CPR News)<\/span>Hart Van Denburg\/CPR News<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI remember them talking about reaching 60 million, three or four years ago, and thinking, \u2018Oh my God, that\u2019s a crazy amount of people,\u2019\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

This year, the airport is on track to serve 78 million people, according to the CEO.<\/p>\n

Depending on the ranking, DIA is the third or fifth busiest airport in the world, and its workforce is the size of an entire city: 40,000 people work for the airport and its contractors and tenants.<\/p>\n

People who work at DIA \u2013 whether it\u2019s in cleaning, construction, food service, wheelchair access, baggage handling or another part of the operation \u2013 are often stopped and asked for help by travelers. They have insight into how tens of millions of people coming through DIA can best navigate it.<\/p>\n

These employees also bear the brunt of travelers\u2019 frustration, but also moments of humanity.<\/p>\n

In the few minutes of rest travelers have as they get their shoes shined, they sometimes share the most intimate things with Soto. She has heard about people\u2019s terminal illnesses, suicidal thoughts and their prayers that they can turn their lives around. She also hears stories of joy.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou never know who\u2019s in your chair, and so we just always kind of use shining shoes as a way to connect to other people,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The employees\u2019 top piece of advice: come to the airport early, to avoid getting stressed about security lines or getting lost.<\/div>\n

\u201cA lot of people think the line\u2019s going to be short, but it tends to be longer than we think,\u201d said Mackenzie Rodriguez, who was arranging the display at an Einstein Bros. Bagel cart in the main terminal.<\/p>\n

\u201cGive yourself time to navigate it, because we are busy,\u201d said Brendan Jackson, who was putting the finishing touches on burgers and sandwiches going out to diners at Boulder Beer Tap House on a Wednesday in November.<\/p>\n

Jackson, Rodriguez and Soto are some of the many people whose jobs include more responsibilities just because they happen to work inside the airport.<\/p>\n

Jackson\u2019s not just supervising what goes on at the tap house. He\u2019s a friendly face for passengers.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t be afraid to ask questions,\u201d he said. \u201cAll the employees are here to help, so if you need any help, ask and we\u2019ll be glad to help.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ermias Argowi, who works for a contractor doing things like wheelchair operation, said that he also has to be on alert at any moment for questions from travelers. They often ask him how to get to the pickup area, how to get to security or how to find their way to some other part of DIA\u2019s labyrinth.<\/p>\n

Argowi said the increase in passengers has definitely affected him. He said that if last year he was assisting five or 10 people in a day of work, now it\u2019s more like 20.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf there are more passengers to be assisted, we have to assist them. That\u2019s our job,\u201d he said. \u201cSo it\u2019s really busy. Very busy.\u201d<\/p>\n

For his own transportation, Argowi takes the A Line to work. It\u2019s about an hour round trip.<\/p>\n

He said the train represents a \u201cbig change\u201d in his experience over the last 10 years.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt that time we were using buses,\u201d he said. \u201cSo it\u2019s more efficient, it\u2019s better now with the train for everybody \u2013 not only for the working class.\u201d<\/p>\n

Soto sees airport administrators taking steps to improve the experience for employees who have to park and get through security checkpoints, to make it easier to get to work.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt gets chaotic traveling on a daily basis. So just imagine the employee coming to work, having to go through the same thing. It can be an exhausting experience,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

People who work at DIA also have tips for where to freshen up and how to score the best airport meal.<\/div>\n

The low-numbered gates in the B concourse and parts of the C concourse were recently redone. And Diana Calandreli, who works at a credit union inside the airport, said those areas have the best restrooms.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe bathrooms are actually a little bit wider, so you have more space,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

She also likes the bigger mirrors with more lighting.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo I know the girlies like to do their makeup at the airport \u2013 those would be the bathrooms to go to,\u201d she said, laughing.<\/p>\n

Courtney Law, who recently started a position in the airport\u2019s administrative offices, said she\u2019s a \u201csemi-frequent traveler,\u201d so she already has a favorite tip. She\u2019s put the phone number for her preferred airport restaurant, Root Down in Concourse C, in her phone, and places an order for lamb sliders while she goes through the security line.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs soon as I get on the train [to get to the gates], I know that it\u2019s probably in progress and it\u2019s probably waiting for me when I arrive, in under 15 minutes, usually,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

One of the things people most want to know is how to get through security fastest, and that\u2019s where Joshua Birt comes in. He\u2019s one of the agents stationed around escalators and elevators, telling travelers which line is quickest at any given moment. It\u2019s officially called \u201ctotal queue management.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe lines here are big and intimidating,\u201d he said. \u201c(But) when I have my line wrapped around the building, that\u2019s only 40 minutes, 30 minutes, if that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Birt\u2019s job is to talk to his colleagues at each security checkpoint on their radios, and get up-to-the-minute intelligence about where to send people.<\/p>\n

Like some passengers, he\u2019s critical of the signage at DIA. He said that\u2019s why the people, like him, are so important.<\/p>\n

CPR\u2019s Matt Bloom contributed reporting<\/em>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Medferyashwork Dawd, seen here on Nov. 1, 2023, works at Hudson News at Denver International Airport. (Hart Van Denburg\/CPR News)Hart Van Denburg\/CPR News \u201cI remember them talking about reaching 60 million, three or four years ago, and thinking, \u2018Oh my God, that\u2019s a crazy amount of people,\u2019\u201d she said. This year, the airport is on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":30481,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[431,120,28,1753,1469],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-30480","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-business-general","tag-colorado","tag-headlines","tag-holiday-or-vacation","tag-travel-and-commuting"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30480","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30480"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30480\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30481"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30480"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30480"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30480"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=30480"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}