$52 million in airport contracts, from self bag drops to wildlife control, reach the mayor's desk

The machines that let travelers tag and drop their own checked bags at Denver International Airport (DEN) are the subject of the largest of five airport contracts on the Mayor-Council agenda Tuesday (agenda). Together the five add up to about $52.3 million.

Why it matters to residents: DEN is owned by the city, so its contracts need City Council approval. Each request lists the airport's operations and maintenance money as the source, with the encryption purchase also drawing on airport capital project funds. The Transportation and Infrastructure Committee approved all five by consent on Oct. 21, our records show.

The five contracts

1. Self bag drop operations, about $37.9 million. Resolution 26-1519 would hire SITA Information Networking Computing USA for four years, with three one-year options, to operate and maintain the self bag drop system (Legistar). The airport's request says the system checks boarding passes, can identify passengers biometrically, weighs and scans bags, and sends them into the main baggage system. The request says the contract was not competitively bid, citing a sole-source exception, and that no minority- or women-owned business goals were set. SITA has provided these services to the city before, according to the request.

DEN's self bag drops went live on the renovated Level 6 in November 2021 with Southwest and then United, Airport Technology reported. In April, DEN and Southwest added a TSA PreCheck Touchless ID bag drop option.

2. Wildlife hazard management, about $4.16 million. Bill 26-1520 would continue the airport's agreement with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Wildlife Services from 2027 through 2031 (Legistar). The request says the program is required under federal aviation regulations. The request says the USDA team is the airport's main responder to wildlife threats, runs a monthly wildlife hazard committee and handles federal and state permits.

3. Radio encryption, about $6.66 million. Resolution 26-1518 is a one-time purchase from Dailey and Wells Communications to add modern encryption and over-the-air rekeying to the airport's radios (Legistar). The request says unencrypted radios risk exposing information about emergency response, staff movements and critical infrastructure. It was bought through a cooperative state purchasing agreement.

4. Radio equipment, $3 million. Resolution 26-1516 sets up a purchase order with the same company for L3Harris radio hardware, software and support through 2028 (Legistar).

5. Landing fee billing, $600,000. Resolution 26-1517 would keep PASSUR Aerospace's software for auditing and billing airlines' landing fees, for two years plus three one-year options (Legistar). The request cites continuity of service as the reason it was not bid.

What our records add

Three of the five were not competitively bid. The bag drop and landing fee contracts cite sole-source and continuity exceptions in the mayor's contracting order, and the USDA agreement cites a "professional preference" exception. The radio encryption purchase used an existing cooperative contract.

The bag drop deal could run longer than five years. With all options, it would reach seven years. The airport's request checks the box for a term beyond five years, which needs a written justification under the mayor's order.

All five are in District 11, represented by Stacie Gilmore, where the airport sits.

What's next

• Oct. 27: Mayor-Council review.
• Then the full Council. The four resolutions could be adopted in a consent vote unless a member calls one out. The USDA agreement is a bill and needs two readings. Check the meetings page for dates.