Simple Flying
Steven Walker
17 September 2026
Denver International Airport (DEN) was supposed to be a symbol of what the modern airport could become... Instead, the baggage system became one of the most expensive technology failures in aviation history, delaying the airport's opening by 16 months and leaving the facility with a bill that kept growing long after passengers finally arrived.
The headline figure often attached to the failure is $560 million, but that number tells only part of the story. The automated system itself cost about $250 million, the city spent another $100 million on construction related to making it work, and $341 million in interest accumulated while the airport was delayed. United Airlines then remained tied to a lease costing about $60 million per year, even after deciding the system was not worth using...
