The Syracuse Regional Airport Authority (SRAA) has announced that its Executive Director, Christina Callahan, has accepted the position of Deputy General Manager of LaGuardia Airport, a large hub airport facility owned and operated by the Port Authority of NY & NJ. Callahan is expected to join the Port Authority in March.

“Syracuse is an amazing place to live and work,” Callahan stated, “but the opportunity to join the Port Authority of NY & NJ and to work at one of the most iconic airports in the world is an opportunity I could not pass up. It has been an honor to lead the airport for the last eight years and I know that there are still many great things in store for Syracuse Hancock International Airport.”

LaGuardia Airport is among the top 25 airports in the United States serving approximately 30 million passengers annually and is in the midst of an $8 billion redevelopment program.

In 2018, SYR underwent its own top to bottom $65 million terminal rebuild financed through a combination of funding from New York State, the federal government, Onondaga County and the Syracuse Regional Airport Authority (SRAA).

In 2018, nonstop flights to and from Syracuse increased to a record 24 destinations and SYR has seen record passenger growth in 2018. SRAA has operated Syracuse’s Hancock Airport since it took it over from the City of Syracuse in 2014.

Callahan was the first, and has been the only, SRAA Executive Director. Prior to her role as Executive Director, Callahan led the airport as the City of Syracuse’s Commissioner of Aviation. In 2018, Callahan was named Director of the Year in the small airports category by Airport Experience News.

“We are proud of and excited for our Executive Director as she begins this next phase in her career,” said Syracuse Regional Airport Authority 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 SRAA Board of Directors and its HR committee will initiate a search process for the airport’s next Executive Director, with details to be finalized and announced in the near future.