Direct Flights From Denver to Dubai? DIA Teases New International Routes

Dubai may be the next international destination with direct service to and from Denver International Airport, according to airport CEO Phillip Washington, who reportedly suggested Emirates airlines as a potential partner earlier this week.

According to DIA, Dubai isn't the only international destination that could have direct routes coming soon, either, with

That route would connect the second-busiest airport in the world — Dubai International in the United Arab Emirates — with the sixth-busiest airport in the world in our hometown conspiracy-ridden portal to the furthest-flung destinations.

Denver has already added new nonstops to its repertoire of global destinations recently: You can now fly directly to Dublin, Istanbul and Rome — and, as of last Thursday, Regina, Saskatchewan, in Canada. But Dubai would establish a new regional destination for nonstop fliers out of DIA: Currently there are no direct flights to the Middle East or Africa out of the airport, and Narita, Japan is the only end-point in Asia for flights out of DIA.

Emirates, a subsidiary of the Dubai government's investment arm, is known for using the world's largest passenger aircraft, the Airbus 380, which can seat more than 850 passengers at capacity. Most American airports don't have sufficient runway lengths for this behemoth of the skies, but DIA's Runway 16R/34L is the longest runway in the United States, at 16,000 feet long.

Lufthansa just landed the first Airbus A380 at DIA on April 30 after a direct flight from Munich. Emirates has the largest fleet of the luxury "King of the Skies" A380s of any airline globally.

There is yet to be an official announcement by either DIA or Emirates regarding a Denver-to-Dubai direct flight, but the airport's media team didn't discount its CEO's remark, confirming the "substance" of the quote and adding a couple more eye-catching targets for direct flights to Asia and Europe.

"Although we do not have further information to share at this time, work to add new nonstop international destinations to our growing network is ongoing and reflected in the ‘Expanding Our Global Connections’ pillar of DEN’s Vision 100 strategic plan," a statement to Westword reads. "Efforts to achieve this goal include identifying markets around the world that offer the potential for new flights over the next decade; this includes cities such as Amsterdam, Seoul and Dubai. Currently DEN’s airlines offer nonstop service to 230 destinations worldwide, including 35 international markets in 19 countries – the most in DEN’s history. This level of connectivity provides DEN travelers with more options than ever before."

An Emirates spokesperson was cagier about the prospect, but still left the door open to Denver-Dubai flights.

"At this time we have no official plans to start services to Denver. Our customers have the option to connect to Denver through our codeshare partners via our American gateways. While we continuously evaluate opportunities to enhance our network and serve new markets, any official announcements regarding new routes or services will be communicated through our official channels," a statement from Emirates reads.