How IoT Technology Is Reshaping Airport Infrastructure Maintenance: The Practice of Denver International Airport

Introduction

In large transportation hubs, the normal operation of elevators, escalators, and moving walkways is not only a baseline for service experience but also a legal requirement for barrier-free access. However, traditional fault reporting processes often rely on manual detection and hierarchical notification, leading to significantly prolonged equipment downtime. Denver International Airport, in partnership with U.S. IoT startup Knaq, is changing this by deploying sensor networks and intelligent analysis platforms. This project demonstrates how digital monitoring can be deeply integrated into daily operations and maintenance in the engineering and construction sector, providing an important reference for upgrading maintenance models at global airports and rail transit facilities.

Project Background

Denver International Airport is one of the busiest airports in the world, handling over 82.4 million passengers annually. Its vast campus operates more than 160 elevators, 145 escalators, and 63 moving walkways—a total of 372 passenger transport units. Before 2023, fault reporting for these devices relied primarily on verbal reports from airport staff or passengers. On average, it took 75 minutes for the maintenance control center to generate a work order—and this does not include the time from fault occurrence to reporting. An unexpected shutdown of a moving walkway could sometimes take hours or even days to enter the repair process.

Key Progress

In 2023, Denver International Airport launched a pilot project with Knaq, installing sensors and communication gateways on some devices. The system captures anomalies in real time through vibration, temperature, and operational status monitoring, and automatically sends alerts to the maintenance team via SMS, email, or API interface. During the two-month pilot, the average response delay for 30 service calls proved that sensor alerts are 75 minutes faster than manual notifications.

As of the first quarter of 2026, Denver International Airport has deployed the Knaq system on 353 devices, achieving a coverage rate of 94.9%. The remaining 19 units are planned for upgrade by the end of 2027. More importantly, future integration with the IBM Maximo workflow system will achieve a fully automated closed loop—"sensor detects fault → automatically generates work order → dispatches to field technician"—further reducing the time from fault occurrence to repair initiation.

Industry Impact

This case provides three levels of insight for the construction and operation of global infrastructure:1. Operations & Maintenance Efficiency Revolution: Traditional "scheduled maintenance" is being replaced by "usage-based predictive maintenance." By analyzing actual equipment operating hours, vibration spectrum, and temperature rise data, Knaq can predict potential failures like bearing wear and motor overheating in advance, avoiding unplanned downtime. 2. Data Neutrality and Compatibility: The Knaq system is designed as an independent data layer that is agnostic to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), compatible with elevator brands such as Otis, Schindler, and KONE. This "transparent data layer" model breaks down vendor information silos, enabling large facility managers to uniformly assess the health status of all assets. 3. Cross-Industry Replication Potential: The technology has been validated at Seattle's Sound Transit (covering 274 elevators across 50+ stations) and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (through the Transit Tech Lab). From airports to rail transit, and from government buildings to commercial complexes, IoT-driven smart maintenance is becoming a new standard for the engineering industry.The IoT maintenance project at Denver International Airport essentially replaces high-latency manual inspections with low-cost, high-density sensor data, shifting infrastructure "health management" from reactive responses to proactive interventions. This transformation not only improves the availability of individual facilities but also fosters a new engineering service ecosystem—when every piece of equipment becomes a quantifiable, predictable data node, the technological foundation of the entire construction and engineering industry will be reshaped. Amid the global wave of digital transformation, such projects provide a clear model for how intelligent technology can safeguard returns on existing investments.