Denver International Airport Aviation Manager named “Director of the Year”

Kim Day, Aviation Manager, Denver International Airport (DIA)

Kim Day, aviation manager at Denver International Airport (DIA), has been named Director of the Year in the large airports category for 2011 by Airport Revenue News (ARN). ARN, an airport industry trade magazine, selected Day from a pool of highly qualified candidates based on their excellence in the areas of leadership, innovation, revenue generation, marketing, customer service, community service and proactive efforts to advance the airport industry. Day was presented with the award last night at the 2012 ARN Revenue Conference and Exhibition in Orlando, Florida.

Kim Day, Aviation Manager, Denver International Airport (DIA)

“We are very pleased to award the Best Director of the Year honor to Kim Day,” said Pauline Armbrust, president and CEO of ARN. “She exemplifies the best in leadership and management of a major airport and, as people who have worked with and for her can attest, she is truly deserving of this prestigious award.”

“This award is an unexpected and humbling honor that I share with all of the employees at DIA. Their hard work, dedication and professionalism makes me look good every day,” said Day. “Together we have accomplished a lot in the last four years. In addition to realizing record-breaking passenger traffic and new air service, we are building a new train station and hotel and have developed strategic plans that will allow for many more successes in the future.”

Day continued, “I am very fortunate to be able to do what I love every day, for a stellar boss, Denver Mayor Michael B. Hancock, in a city that values its aeronautical economic engine, and at a facility that has no rivals in the industry.”

“Kim is a bold manager of one of the City’s greatest assets, Denver International Airport,” Denver Mayor Michael B. Hancock said. “To become a world-class City, we must think about the next generation of the airport. Kim’s leadership will help create a strategic effort for the continued success of DIA, one that will drive economic opportunities in the region for years to come.”

Day accepted the ARN award on the airport’s 17th birthday, and on the heels of last week’s announcement that DIA broke its all-time passenger traffic record in 2011 when nearly 53 million passengers traveled through the facility. For four consecutive years DIA has seen more than 50 million travelers and continues to grow to meet the demand for international and domestic travel in Denver. Two carriers, Icelandair and Spirit Airlines, have announced plans to initiate new service at the nation’s fifth-busiest airport in 2012.