Holiday travel through Denver International Airport the week of Christmas was down 46 percent from last year.
From Dec. 20 through Dec. 27, about 300,400 travelers passed through the airport's TSA checkpoints. That same week in 2019, around 555,800 people traveled through DIA, according to DIA spokesperson Alex Renteria.
The busiest days this season were Dec. 23, with 46,000 travelers, and Dec. 27, with almost 47,000 travelers. On the busiest day during the holiday season 2019, about 78,000 people passed through the airport's checkpoints.
"It's a big difference from year to year," Renteria said. "We think over the year for 2020 we'll be down around 50 to 60 percent in total, so seeing that 46 percent difference in passenger traffic is expected."
The airport is offering several voluntary options for passengers who, "are not comfortable" riding in the potentially crowded trains to DIA concourses amid the coronavirus pandemic, Renteria said. Travelers can walk to their concourse or make a reservation for a train car with a maximum of 12 people through a smartphone app.
"We have been pushing hard on making sure people are aware of those options, just because we know we want people to feel safe and comfortable while they're at the airport," Renteria said.
The airport also has a team of employees around the building reminding people to wear their masks to limit the spread of COVID-19, she said.
