Are There Two Airports In Denver? | What Travelers Mix Up

No, Denver has one main commercial airport, while nearby smaller airports handle private, charter, training, and cargo flights.

Plenty of travelers ask this after spotting more than one airport name on a map, a hotel shuttle page, or a car rental listing. The clean answer is that Denver has one main airline airport for regular passenger trips: Denver International Airport, or DEN.

The mix-up happens because the wider metro area has several other airports within a short drive. They are busy, active, and well known in aviation circles. Still, they are not a second version of DEN for most travelers. They mainly handle private aircraft, flight training, business jets, maintenance traffic, and other non-airline flying.

So if you mean, “Does Denver have two big passenger airports like some cities do?” the answer is no. If you mean, “Are there multiple airports around the Denver metro area?” the answer is yes, and that is where the confusion starts.

Are There Two Airports In Denver? What The Metro Area Actually Has

Denver International Airport is the one almost everyone means when they say “Denver airport.” It is the giant airport northeast of the city with scheduled domestic and international airline traffic. The airport’s official figures show more than 82 million passengers moved through DEN in 2025, which tells you how dominant it is in the region. You can see that on DEN’s official airport facts.

Then there are the other airports around metro Denver. Centennial Airport, south of the city, is one of the busiest general aviation airports in the country. Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport, between Denver and Boulder, handles private and corporate flying. Colorado Air and Space Port, east of DEN, is another public-use airport in the regional mix. Those airports matter a lot to pilots and aircraft operators, but they usually do not matter to someone booking a normal airline ticket.

That split is why locals can sound like they are talking about two Denvers. One person means the airline airport. Another means the airport closest to a business park, a private terminal, or a flight school. Same metro area, different kind of trip.

Why People Get Tripped Up

A few things feed the confusion. Airport names do not always match city limits. A place can be called a Denver-area airport without being the airport most visitors should choose. Flight schools, charter companies, and private terminals often use names like Centennial or Rocky Mountain Metro in ads, so travelers see those names and assume Denver must have two equal passenger airports.

There is another wrinkle. Some cities have one main airport plus a second commercial airport used by low-cost carriers. Denver is not set up that way. The metro area has one dominant commercial airport, then a ring of reliever and general aviation airports around it. That structure is normal in large metro areas with heavy air traffic.

• Book a regular airline seat? You almost certainly need DEN.
• Flying private or charter? You may use Centennial or Rocky Mountain Metro.
• Taking lessons or renting a small aircraft? A non-DEN airport is far more likely.
• Seeing “Denver area airport” on a website? Check the airport code before you assume it is DEN.

Centennial’s official fact sheet calls it a reliever for Denver International Airport, which is a neat way of saying it helps absorb traffic that does not need the main airline field. That page also shows how busy it is in its own lane. You can read that in the Centennial Airport fact sheet.

What To Compare	Denver International Airport (DEN)	Other Denver-Area Airports
Main use	Scheduled airline travel, large domestic routes, international routes	Private flying, charter trips, training, business aviation, aircraft services
What most visitors need	Yes	No
Typical airport code people see on tickets	DEN	APA, BJC, CFO, and others depending on the airport
Airline terminals	Full passenger terminal setup	Usually private terminals, FBOs, hangars, or training facilities
Best fit for vacation travel	Strong fit	Rare
Best fit for private jet traffic	Possible, but not the usual first pick	Common
Best fit for student pilots	No	Common
How People Describe It In Casual Talk	“The Denver airport”	“A Denver-area airport”

Which Airport Should You Actually Use

If you are buying a ticket on Southwest, United, Delta, American, Frontier, or another major airline, choose Denver International Airport unless your itinerary says something else in plain text. This sounds obvious, yet it saves people from booking the wrong hotel shuttle, parking lot, or car service.

If your trip starts with a charter quote, a private jet booking, pilot training, or an aircraft maintenance appointment, the airport may be different. In that case, the airport code matters more than the city name. APA means Centennial. BJC means Rocky Mountain Metropolitan. CFO means Colorado Air and Space Port. DEN still means the big airline airport.

Rocky Mountain Metropolitan’s official airport page shows the same pattern from another angle. It is a public-use airport owned by Jefferson County, with based aircraft and aviation businesses on the field, not a second airline hub for Denver. You can verify that on About RMMA (BJC).

What This Means For Flights, Hotels, And Ground Plans

This is where the wrong assumption can cost time. A hotel near Denver International Airport may be a long way from Centennial. A meeting near the Denver Tech Center may be simple from Centennial and a much longer drive from DEN. So the question is not only “How many airports are there?” It is “Which one matches the type of trip I am taking?”

Use this simple rule: match the airport code first, then the map. Airline travelers start with DEN. Private or training-related trips start with the airport named in the booking email or charter paperwork.

If Your Trip Says	What It Usually Means	What You Should Do
DEN	Main commercial airport for the region	Book airport parking, hotels, and rides for Denver International
APA	Centennial Airport	Do not head to DEN; route your ride south of central Denver
BJC	Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport	Plan for the northwest side of the metro area
CFO	Colorado Air and Space Port	Check location details east of the metro core
“Private terminal” or “FBO”	Private aviation, not the regular airline terminal	Confirm the airport name and terminal operator before you leave
“Denver area airport”	A broad label, not a final answer	Ask for the airport code

Why Denver Does Not Feel Like A Two-Airport City

Some metro areas split passenger traffic across two well-known commercial airports. Denver does not work like that in daily life. DEN is the giant front door for scheduled passenger service, so it dominates search results, airline bookings, airport shuttles, and travel planning.

The smaller airports still matter. They take pressure off the main field, give business aviation room to operate, and offer places for training, maintenance, cargo activity, and specialty flying. Yet they do not compete with DEN for the average traveler’s airline ticket.

That is why the cleanest answer stays the same: Denver has one main passenger airport, plus several smaller airports around the metro area. So the city does not have “two airports” in the way travelers usually mean it. It has one airport you are likely to use, and several others you might hear about.

Signs You Are Reading The Situation Right

• Your airline ticket shows DEN.
• Your airport hotel mentions Peña Boulevard or Denver International shuttles.
• Your charter or business flight paperwork lists APA, BJC, or another non-DEN code.
• Your travel email names an FBO instead of a normal airline terminal.

If you sort those details before you book parking or a ride, the whole question gets easy. Denver is not hiding a second big airline airport from you. Most of the time, it is just a case of one giant commercial airport and several smaller aviation fields sharing the same metro map.