Denver Airport to Open Child Care Center in 2026
Denver airport officials have announced plans to open a small drop-in child care center in 2026. They are also considering the possibility of opening another child care center in the future to serve more employees.
The drop-in center, located on the fourth level of the airport’s hotel and transit center, will have space for 20 children. It will be housed within a new training facility called the Center of Equity and Excellence in Aviation. The center is designed to provide occasional care and will primarily cater to the children of airport employees or community members participating in training center activities.
Although the planned center will only accommodate a small percentage of the airport’s 40,000 employees, it is a significant step towards increasing the availability of child care in an area with limited options. The airport officials began exploring the idea of a child care center earlier this year to address the shortage of state-licensed child care slots in the far northeast Denver campus area, which is considered a child care desert.
Denver International Airport will soon join a few other U.S. airports that offer on-site or nearby child care facilities. These include Los Angeles International Airport, Pittsburgh International Airport, and Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, which are already operating similar centers on their campuses.
The drop-in center in Denver will feature two classrooms – one for babies and toddlers, and another for preschoolers – along with a separate play area. It will operate 10 to 12 hours a day, Monday through Friday, year-round, including holidays.
While parents participating in training activities at the airport will receive free child care, other employees may utilize the center for back-up care at an additional cost.
The plans for the drop-in center emerged from the second phase of the airport’s child care feasibility study. The third phase will explore the potential for an airportwide child care solution, possibly involving a second child care center on or near the airport campus.
Denver airport officials estimate that a significant portion of their employees fall within the 20 to 39-year-old age range, but more data is needed to determine the exact number of employees with young children who require child care services.
The airport is collaborating with Executives Partnering to Invest in Children, a business-oriented group, on the child care feasibility study. A recommendation is expected to be made following the completion of the third phase later this year.
