Airport Experience® News - Post-Conference Issue 2024

Thibault has a similar challenge. Noting growth of 15% over the last year, Thibault says Orlando International Airport (MCO) is “trying to stay out in front” of increasing demand. “We’ve open Terminal C, and we’re actually adding more gates literally as we speak,” he said. “At the same time we’re going back to the original terminal and how do we refresh it, refurbish it and bring it up to standard.” For Dolliole, future planning is top of mind with a new master plan in the works, but he also laments the challenges in retaining key executive staff. “We for a long time were hearing from our peers about the difficulty of losing people,” he said. “We seemed to be immune to it until the very end of the pandemic but now we’re feeling it.” Campbell actually hired on extra staff to deal with her biggest challenge – unfunded federal mandates. “I thought I was really clever and advocated for new positions but we’re already running behind,” she says, specifically calling out TSA checkpoint issues. “The building opened in 1976 and wasn’t designed for this.,” she said. “It’s not our job and we’re just wasting resources.”

Below: Kevin Thibault, CEO of the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority.

Above: Doug Kreulen, president and CEO of the Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority.

Other directors also bristled at the TSA mandate that requires airports to conduct random employee screenings, as well as changes to reimbursement policies on various programs that leave airports footing a larger portion of the bill. Thibault noted that Customs & Border Protection is grossly underfunded given the growth in international traffic at his airport. “We’re at the point where we’re denying landing rights,” he said, noting that the airport is already consolidating international traffic so CBP officers aren’t spread too thin among multiple terminals. The four directors outlined the ongoing capital programs at their airports and the funding and timing challenges inherent within. Kreulen noted the impact of growth. Since 2013, even including the pandemic, Nashville’s grown a little over 10% per year. “When we started the first $1.5 billion capital program we thought it would tail off. It has not. We’ve gone from 36 gates to 40 to 54, and the new capital program will get us to 70 gates.” Parking is also a challenge. While predictions a decade ago were often along the lines of travelers giving up their cars and ride-sharing to the airport, that is not the case today. Demand is high and airports are scrambling to meet parking needs for the growing numbers of travelers. Thibault noted that MCO is adding a parking guidance system to its garages, part of its overall effort to adopt technology that eases the passenger journey.

Below: Kelly Campbell, executive director of Lubbock Preston Smith International Airport.

The directors went on to talk about their biggest successes and failures, who mentored them throughout their careers and what influences they had that shaped their journeys to leadership. They also discussed how to engage the next generation of aviation leaders and keys to achieving success. Campbell noted that she has also followed the advice of “if you’re given an opportunity, say thank you, take it and make that person proud,” she said. She also advises people stretch beyond any intimidation they might feel, because “we all have something to contribute, and we should all have confidence to speak up.”

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AX NEWS APRIL/MAY 2024