Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Chief of Police Stephen L. Holl has announced that he will retire next month after nearly 10 years at the Airports Authority.

“I wish to thank the men and women of the Airports Authority Police Department with whom I have served,” Holl said. “Whatever the circumstance, I have always come away impressed by everyone’s energy and dedication to our mission.”

Holl joined the Airports Authority in 2006. As chief of police, he has been responsible for leading the more than 250 men and women in the Airports Authority’s police department who protect and serve travelers at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Washington Dulles International Airport and along the Dulles Toll Road.

Holl led efforts to enhance the training, preparedness and procedures of the police department, including activating a new Public Safety Communications Center and Emergency Operations Center; initiating emergency exercises to prepare for critical incidents; and strengthening relationships with the law enforcement community, including partnering with Arlington County, Virginia, to construct a new firearms range at Dulles International Airport.

“For nearly a decade, Steve has shown great dedication to the safety and security of the millions of passengers traveling through Washington’s airports and along the Dulles Toll Road. We wish him the best in his retirement,” said Margaret McKeough, Airports Authority COO.

Holl is a 42 year veteran of law enforcement. He has served as the chairman of the Police Chiefs Committee for the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, a director with the Airport Law Enforcement Agencies Network and a member of the Transportation Security Administration Aviation Security Advisory Committee. He is a recipient of the TSA Partnership Award.

Holl’s last day will be September 19. The Airports Authority will undertake a competitive, nationwide search to identify his successor.

The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, established in 1987 by the governments of Virginia and the District of Columbia, manages and operates Ronald Reagan Washington National and Washington Dulles International airports, which together serve more than 40 million passengers a year. The Airports Authority also operates and maintains the Dulles Airport Access Road and the Dulles Toll Road and manages construction of the Silver Line project, a 23-mile extension of the Washington region’s Metrorail system into Loudoun County, Va. No tax dollars are used to operate the toll road, which is funded by toll revenues, or the airports, which are funded through aircraft landing fees, rents and revenues from concessions. The Airports Authority generates more than 387,000 jobs in the National Capital Region.