Stapleton International Airport Plaza (Denver's tallest at 714′). Due to Stapleton's location east of downtown, the Federal Aviation Administration imposed a building height restriction of 700'-715' (depending on where the building was). This allowed an unimpeded glide slope for runways (8L/26R) and (8R/26L). The height restriction was lifted in 1995, well after the city's skyscrapers had been erected. By the 1980s, plans were under way to replace Stapleton with a new airport. Stapleton was plagued with a number of problems, including: The Colorado General Assembly brokered a deal in 1985 to annex a plot of land in Adams County into the city of
Stapleton International Airport to Concourse E. Continental closed its Stapleton pilot and flight attendant bases in October 1994, reducing operations and making United the airport's largest carrier. Delta Flight 569 from Dallas/Ft.Worth was the last commercial flight to land at Stapleton. On February 27, 1995, air traffic controller George Hosford, cleared the last plane – Continental Flight 34, a McDonnell Douglas DC-10 bound for London′s Gatwick Airport – to depart from Stapleton. The airport was then shut down. A convoy of ground service equipment and other vehicles (rental cars, baggage carts, fuel trucks, etc.) traveled to the new Denver International Airport (DEN), which