DENVER — Frontier Airlines is expanding flight offerings between Denver International Airport (DIA) and Grand Junction Regional Airport (GJT) following the indefinite closure of Interstate 70 through Glenwood Canyon.
After launching the three-times weekly service between Denver and Grand Junction in early June, Frontier Airlines announced Friday it has added an additional round-trip flight on both Saturday, Aug. 14 and Saturday, Aug. 21.
Frontier said it could add more flights based on demand. Round-trip fares start at $70 between Denver and Colorado's Western Slope.
"We are seeing an uptick in demand between Grand Junction and Denver, which we believe is being driven by the I-70 road closures and are increasing service to support travelers seeking a more convenient way to travel between the two destinations," said Frontier Airlines' Daniel Shurz.
"Frontier quickly adding additional flights and offering promotional fares reflects their commitment to Colorado and doing what they can to help during this challenging time. We are grateful for their support and partnership," said Angela Padalecki, Grand Junction Regional Airport Executive Director.
"We’re starting by adding two extra flights to our schedule, thereby adding 150 extra seats between [DIA] and GJT for the next couple of weeks and, looking forward, we will continue to evaluate the opportunity for additional service," said Shurz.
I-70 mudslides through Glenwood Canyon
Following the closure of Interstate 70 at Glenwood Canyon due to mudslides over the weekend, the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) is discouraging drivers from rerouting onto nearby Independence Pass.
Independence Pass will be shown as closed on cotrip.org, Google Maps and Apple Maps to prevent I-70 detour traffic from being rerouted onto the mountain road. CDOT said this is because it's a challenging mountain highway with limited cell service.
The highway is still open to local traffic.
Instead, local authorities are asking travelers to use the northern alternate route on Highway 13 as a detour around the Glenwood Canyon closure.
State emergency management also took to Twitter to ask motorists not to use Cottonwood, Hagerman or McClure Passes, since they are difficult mountain passes that are not designed for heavy traffic.
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