Christina Callahan, the executive director of the Syracuse Regional Airport Authority and AXN’s director of the year in the small airports division, has accepted the position of deputy general manager of LaGuardia Airport (LGA), the SRAA announced. Callahan is expected to join the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates LGA, in March.
Callahan praised Syracuse Hancock International Airport (SYR) and the city, but said “the opportunity to join the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and to work at one of the most iconic airports in the world is an opportunity I could not pass up.”
Callahan began her career at SYR in 1997 as secretary to then-commissioner of aviation Charles R. Everett, Jr. She moved up the ranks, eventually becoming commissioner of aviation, then transitioning to executive director of the Syracuse Regional Airport Authority in 2014, when the authority took over airport operations from the city.
“We are proud of and excited for our executive director as she begins this next phase in her career,” said SRAA Chair Jo Anne Gagliano. “For her to be recognized by the Port Authority as an industry leader speaks not only to Christina’s abilities but also to the great work that our airport’s employees and partners have done and will continue to do.”
The airport authority said its board of directors and its human resources committee will initiate a search process for the airport’s next executive director, with details to be finalized and announced in the near future.
