Airport Experience® News - Post-Conference Issue 2026

Above: Atif Saeed, outgoing CEO at the City of Philadelphia Department of Aviation and current CEO of The San Diego County Regional Airport Authority and Brian Ryks, executive director and CEO of the Metropolitan Airports Commission.

DIRECTOR TO DIRECTOR Eight Airport Directors Share Insights In Final Session At AXC

Editor’s Note: This year, the AX Conference planners veered from the norm for the last educational session of the event. Instead of the standard panel format, we invited eight directors to take part in an on-stage conversation, essentially “interviewing” each other on topics of their choice. We paired the directors into four sets of two, allowing for one-on-one conversations. Here’s what they had to say. Ryks and Saeed Earning – and keeping – customer satisfaction was top of mind during a conversation between Brian Ryks, executive director and CEO of the Metropolitan Airports Commission (MAC) and Atif Saeed, outgoing CEO at the City of Philadelphia Department of Aviation and current CEO of the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority. When asked how Minneapolis– Saint Paul International Airport (MSP) continually maintains top-performing customer service award rankings, Ryks quipped that while “Minnesota nice is real,” he and his team also take proactive steps to keep customers happy. “Customer service is foundational, and we certainly treat it that way at MSP,” said Ryks, adding that both the airport’s leadership and its 24,000 employees are equally dedicated to the mission.

BY SARAH BELING

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AX NEWS APRIL/MAY 2026