Brief History of Centennial Airport (KAPA)

1968 - 2008

The airport's beginnings were similar to those of so many other airports-it began simply as an idea. Early in the 1960s, George Wallace thought of building an airport in support of the businesses at his fledgling Denver Technological Center (DTC), which has since become the secondary skyline of the Denver metropolitan area. He convinced business owners and elected officials with Arapahoe County to build this new airport on the outskirts of the Southeast part of the metro area, and in March of 1963, the County along with Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) officials announced that they would build what was billed as the "finest general aviation airport in the West".

Centennial Airport, known then as Arapahoe County Airport, officially opened for business on May 12, 1968. Construction of the $4 Million facility, including Runway 34/16, measuring 4,200' X 100', began in 1967 with a partial grant from the Federal Government (FAAP No. 9-05-040-C701) and a local match. Lou Clinton, who was located at Stapleton Airport for 23 years, became the first commercial tenant on the airport providing fueling, aircraft sales and flight instruction services. Plans to expand the airport were announced before it was even dedicated, calling for a runway extension, lighting and other amenities, which were also completed in 1968.

By 1971, the 10-28 crosswind runway was added and the first air traffic control tower was built in 1973. Operational activity quickly exceeded 100,000 landing and take-offs as the airport served a growing Denver market during what came to be the most active period in General Aviation history. Arapahoe County was the owner and operator of the airport in those first few years but in 1975, the county decided to establish a separate Arapahoe County Public Airport Authority, with its own board of commissioners, in order to make bond financing simpler. 1977 was a particularly busy year that saw completion of a new parallel 34L-16R runway, as well as an extension of 34R-16L, including taxiway improvements.

As the airport continued to expand its runways and taxiways, the realization that it affected multiple city and county jurisdictions became the impetus to change the name of the airport. In honor of the State's official designation as the Centennial State when it became part of the Union in 1876, the airport was renamed Centennial Airport on July 13, 1984. Not only did the name of the airport change, so did the look of the airport as it was about to undergo the most dramatic change to date with the construction of a new and taller air traffic control tower. Dedicated on September 20, 1985, the award-winning design boasted east and west wing offices at its base, evoking images of flight. The tower has become the most significant landmark of the airport and for miles around. Not to be left behind, the runways were reclassified to 17/35 rather than 16/34 to more accurately reflect their compass positions and so ended came a decade of change.

 As the 90's ushered in, general aviation and the airport began to feel the effects of a declining economy. In spite of difficult times in the industry, Centennial Airport fared better than most. While the GA fleet at APA shrunk by 3%, JeffCo and Stapleton Airport fleets declined by 29% and 54% respectively by 1986. In 1988, Centennial Airport sold more fuel to GA than did Stapleton, the first year it would do so and a sign that APA had come into its own as a GA airport.

With all things aeronautical, turbulence is a fact of life. For Centennial Airport, the decade of the 1990s would be the most turbulent of all beginning in 1992 when an airline company applied for service. Stapleton had provided air carrier service and Centennial Airport along with the other GA airports in the metro area mostly took care of private airplanes, from small Piper Cubs to business aircraft such as Lear jets. Never before had the airport contemplated scheduled passenger service but a perfect storm was brewing. With the airport becoming busier all the time and new homes being built ever-closer to this once "field in the boonies", noise complaints, not surprisingly, became part of the daily fabric. The closure of Stapleton Airport and the opening of the new Denver International Airport would further propel the growth of Centennial Airport and nearby residents, fearing that airlines would not only add to aircraft noise but to congested roads leading to the airport, told elected officials-no way!

To make a long story short, the airport, the airline, the communities and the FAA all fought each other for nearly a decade and expended millions of dollars in litigation, not to mention taking stress levels to heights not even airplanes dared fly. To make matters worse for the airport, which had been struggling financially since the slowdown of the 80s, the FAA announced that if the airport did not allow passenger service it would cut off millions in Airport Improvement Program funding that the airport relied on to maintain its runways and taxiways. Caught between a rock and a hard place, the "finest GA airport in the West" started to show cracks, literally and figuratively.

With the new millennium came the realization that without federal funding the airport had few choices-accept limited scheduled airline service or fall slowly into disrepair. The airport, which does not rely on local tax dollars, needed the federal funds it generated by way of the excise tax collected on every gallon sold at the airport, but these dollars were now going elsewhere. It was only when citizens, elected officials and airport tenants and users got together to look for solutions that they realized that no one wanted scheduled service.

Citizens did not want scheduled service, and pilots certainly did not want to be number "nine" waiting for take-off clearance. Together they asked the Colorado Congressional delegation to intercede and lo and behold, language included in the 2002 Omnibus Bill became law of the land on February 20, 2003, allowing the airport to opt out of scheduled service without the loss its federal funds...and the rest they say is history!

Today, Centennial Airport is an international airport serving the global economy. Its operational activity rivals that of San Francisco and John F. Kennedy International Airports. Over 2,000 employees call it their place of work and together they generate over one billion in economic activity-every year! While noise continues to be a concern, working closely with the surrounding communities and businesses, Centennial Airport has become a model in balancing the needs of the airport with the needs of its neighbors by creating an environment that equally concerned about quality of life as it is to bringing prosperity to the region. This balance is aptly captured in Centennial Airport's tagline Global Reach-Local Access™ and serves as the basis for its strategic, tactical and sustaining business model into the future.