FAA Imposes New Flight Restrictions at Denver’s Centennial Airport
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has recently imposed a series of comprehensive restrictions on flight operations at Centennial Airport (KAPA) near Denver, Colorado. This airport is one of the busiest general aviation airports in the United States. The new restrictions include a ban on touch-and-goes, limitations on parallel departures, and a reduction in pattern work for VFR traffic. Surprisingly, these changes were implemented without issuing a NOTAM or prior notice to pilots.
As reported by the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA), the FAA directed air traffic controllers to immediately stop simultaneous parallel departure operations. This decision was made due to safety concerns over conflicts between departing IFR and VFR traffic on the airport’s closely-spaced parallel runways, which are separated by approximately 700 feet. These restrictions were put into effect around the first weekend of October 2026.
AOPA Northwest Mountain Regional Manager, Brad Schuster, described the action as “unprecedented.” He pointed out that even after nearly a week, the FAA had not issued a NOTAM or updated the airport’s ATIS. Centennial Airport handles more than 300,000 aircraft operations annually. As a result of these restrictions, flight schools, instructors, and airport businesses have all been significantly impacted. The restrictions have already redirected training flights to neighboring airports, which has raised concerns about increased traffic in surrounding communities. Both AOPA and the airport authority have requested urgent meetings with FAA officials to find a resolution.
Source: AOPA – FAA limits VFR operations at Centennial Airport (October 15, 2026)