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Southwest is adding over 1,000 jobs to Denver in 2020

Dec 05, 2019

Passenger demand in the aviation industry continues to grow. With business and personal travel expansion, the need for more aircraft, facilities, and airline personnel is also increasing.

To underscore this trend in aviation, Southwest Airlines expects to add over 1,000 new jobs to its western gateway hub at Denver International Airport, currently the fifth busiest airport in the United States.

The Denver airport, with its recent announcement, officially bested the Nashville and Houston airports in the competition to accommodate Southwest’s expansion, according to a November Denver Post report.

Expansion at DIA

To accommodate their growing passenger demand, Denver International Airport is investing about $1.5 billion and adding 39 new gates to the facility. This new development is expected to be completed by early 2021.

With this opportunity, Dallas-based Southwest Airlines will be expanding its presence at the Denver International Airport in dramatic fashion. The company has proposed to utilize 16 of the new gates in Concourse C and strengthen its presence in Denver by 50% with an additional 100 flights per day.

The company’s expanded presence at Denver International will become Southwest’s busiest hub, according to a Dallas News report. The expansion will outstrip Chicago’s Midway and Love Field in Dallas, currently the airline’s busiest airports.

Denver International offers Southwest significant growth advantages over those other key hubs. Besides being ideally located as an east-west connector, the airport provides future expansion capability that Midway and Love Field cannot. Those antiquated airports were vital for Southwest’s original growth, but today they are locked into residential/industrial areas that will not allow for further expansion.

Adding 1,000 Jobs

However, the critical economy-boosting statistic resulting from this expansion will be the addition of over 1,000 new jobs to the Denver area. The expectation will be that this development will require applicants for:

  • Management positions

  • Customer Service Agents

  • Technicians and Mechanics

  • Systems Engineers

  • Ramp Agents

  • Provisioning Agents

  • Customer service

  • Freight Agents

  • Facilities Maintenance

The 1,000 plus additional jobs are expected to be added over the coming eight years and, according to the same Denver Post report, will average about $128,000 per year compensation per position.