Denver council committee advances 10 airline agreements for DIA

Denver City Council’s Transportation and Infrastructure Committee voted 4-2 on Sept. 16 to advance 10 proposed airline use and lease agreements at Denver International Airport to the full council. The agreements would begin Jan. 1, 2027, and run for three years, with two possible one-year extensions at the city’s discretion.

The committee approved the resolutions as a block for filing. Chair Alvidrez, Vice Chair Kevin Flynn and council members Chris Hinds and Diana Romero Campbell voted yes. Council members Stacie Gilmore and Shontel Lewis voted no; Council Member Amanda Sandoval was absent, according to the committee’s minutes.

The agreements cover Air Canada, Air France, Alaska Airlines, Cayman Airways, Copa Airlines, Icelandair, Denver Air Connection, Lufthansa, Turkish Airlines and WestJet. Signatory airlines would receive preferential gate access and reduced airport charges. Denver International Airport officials told the committee that airlines operating without an agreement could continue through permits but would pay rates approximately 25% higher.

The vote followed questions from Gilmore and Lewis about safeguards for immigration-related flights and other activity at the airport. Their concerns included cameras, identification badges for federal personnel, flight tracking, access to airline passenger manifests and public reporting.

Airport officials said they were developing monitoring and reporting measures but could not provide specific dates for all of them. They also said the airport cannot obtain airline passenger manifests without legal process. The committee’s motion and minutes do not show that the agreements were conditioned on cameras, badges, flight tracking, manifest access, reporting deadlines or other transparency requirements.

Airport officials distinguished the agreements from immigration-enforcement flights operating through a fixed-base operator. They said those flights would continue regardless of whether the 10 agreements are approved, while the agreements primarily concern scheduled passenger service, including Denver Air Connection flights from Concourse C.

Council Bill 26-0684, enacted in June, requires businesses operating in Denver to take reasonable steps to comply with applicable federal, state and local laws. The City Council’s Legistar record shows final council action June 8 and the mayor’s signature June 9. The measure does not expressly prohibit immigration-related flights or require airlines to disclose flight information. The Denver City Attorney’s Office described the ordinance as an accountability tool for unlawful conduct, not a way to stop an airline from lawfully operating at the airport, . The Federal Aviation Administration, rather than Denver alone, controls whether an airline may operate at the airport, according to the city’s explanation reported by the publication.