Milestone positions DEN as a national leader in defining the future of aviation safety
DENVER – June 30, 2026 – Denver International Airport (DEN) announced today that it is the first large hub airport in the U.S. to achieve full implementation of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Airport Safety Management System (SMS) requirements. This achievement makes DEN among the earliest airports in the country to fully operationalize one of the FAA’s most significant new regulatory initiatives.
“Safety will always be a top priority at DEN. This milestone reflects years of coordinated effort across the entire DEN organization and airport community and positions DEN as a national leader helping define the future of aviation safety in the United States. Implementation has required us to fundamentally rethink how operational risk is identified, assessed, communicated, and managed across one of the most complex aviation environments in the world,” DEN CEO Phil Washington said. “I’m proud of the DEN team’s hard work and collaboration to achieve this accomplishment on behalf of employees and our airport customers.”
In 2025, the FAA accepted DEN’s SMS Manual, which provides a structured framework to proactively identify, assess and mitigate safety risks across all airport operations. An SMS changes how airports manage safety by shifting from a reactive compliance model focused on responding to incidents to a proactive risk management system designed to identify hazards before incidents occur. FAA Airport SMS implementation under 14 CFR Part 139 Subpart E represents the most significant advancement in airport safety oversight in decades.
DEN’s dedication to safety excellence is reinforced in the SMS pillars:
• Safety Policy – Commitment from leadership to integrate safety at all levels
• Safety Risk Management – Systematic identification and mitigation of potential hazards
• Safety Assurance – Continuous monitoring and improvement of safety processes
• Safety Promotion – Training, communication and fostering a safety-first mindset
• Safety Culture – Ensuring safety is a shared responsibility among all employees and stakeholders
Specifically, SMS implementation strengthens DEN’s ability to identify operational hazards before incidents occur; improve cross-department collaboration and communication; make better risk-informed operational decisions; increase operational resilience in a rapidly growing airport environment; improve data-driven safety decision making; reduce operational disruptions before they impact employees, passengers, airlines, or airport operations; and continuously improve safety performance through a structured and measurable safety framework.
Denver International Airport is one of the busiest airports in the world. DEN is the primary economic engine for the state of Colorado, generating more than $47.2 billion for the region annually. For more information visit www.FlyDenver.com, check us out on YouTube and Instagram, like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. Sign up for DEN’s monthly newsletter Nonstop News.
