Airport Experience® News - Post-Conference Issue 2026

DIRECTOR’S CHAIR

STEERING BWI FORWARD Amidst Traffic Downturn, Griffin Refocuses BWI With Eye On Creating Sense Of Place

BY CAROL WARD

ditor’s Note: Shannetta Griffin is widely known throughout the U.S. aviation industry. From 2021-2025 she served as associate administrator of airports for the Federal Aviation Administration. In April of last year, she returned to airport management, accepting the role of executive director and CEO of the Maryland Aviation Administration. She is responsible for overseeing the management, planning, and operations of Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI), Martin State Airport (MTN), and the state’s regional aviation assistance program. AXN’s Carol Ward caught up with Griffin in March, just shy of a year into her new role, to discuss the transition from being a public servant for the federal government to an airport director, and to see how she’s putting her own unique stamp on BWI going forward. E

WARD: Your aviation career has taken many turns, most recently returning to airport management after your stint at the FAA. How has the transition from the federal government back to airports been for you? GRIFFIN: When I left the federal government, I took a little time off, just to decompress. I had a lot of opportunity [but ultimately decided on BWI]. The transition has been good. Anytime you walk into a new organization, especially after leadership has been there for quite some time, it’s just a matter of getting adjusted. Coming out of the FAA, where I was dealing with multiple airports and seeing all the concerns and issues that exist, and then of course the work that I had done for 40-something years, really helped me as I walked into BWI. Even though it’s been almost a year, I’m still learning because the dynamics have changed. I learned right away that we really have a skilled team. We just have to really keep building upon that and just finding ways to continue to make the airport better. WARD: You’ve been there about a year now. Can you give me a big picture of your key goals going forward?

GRIFFIN: In any organization, I feel as though the people are key to success. I really wanted to get to know the staff, certainly the executive staff, and to really understanding what they do, where they saw their gaps were and what their teams looked like as far as expertise. Then I really started to dig into the vision of what’s next for BWI. Everyone knows that Southwest Airlines is our largest partner, but what does that mean for us? There’s a lot of value in that, but certainly it’s important to understand what’s next for the airport when it comes to air service development. And how do I educate the community on what that looks like? I spent a lot of time the first several months meeting all of the staff, going to all of our divisions and talking a little bit about my vision. One of the first things the marketing team did was to have me do a webinar, just talking about my vision around revenue generation, air service development, really building out a strong team and really making sure that we’re following all the proper guidance in regards to the Federal Aviation Administration and the state of Maryland. I [shared that vision] with each of the internal divisions, then I’ve also been on a roadshow, going out

Above: Shannetta Griffin, executive director and CEO, Maryland Aviation Administration. Griffin oversees Baltimore/ Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport and Martin State Airport.

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AX NEWS APRIL/MAY 2026