DIA's automated baggage system failure (1993-1995)
DIA's original design centered on an automated baggage handling system that kept failing during tests. The breakdowns pushed the airport's opening back 16 months and added hundreds of millions in costs before engineers replaced the system with conventional carts and tugs.
The airport finally opened in February 1995 with the automated system largely abandoned.
The episode made DIA's technology procurement cautious, favoring incremental, proven systems over grand automation.
The current IT contracts carry that same caution: three vendors instead of one, no committed minimum purchase, and a focus on replacing components that are already failing.
