LOS ANGELES WORLD AIRPORTS ANNOUNCES CEO DEPARTURE IN MARCH 2020

11/27/2019 12:06 PM

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Nov. 27, 2019

Contact:
LAX Public Relations
(424) 646-5260
LOS ANGELES WORLD AIRPORTS ANNOUNCES CEO DEPARTURE IN MARCH 2020

(Los Angeles, CA) Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) today announced that CEO Deborah Flint has accepted an offer to serve as President and CEO of the Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA), which operates Toronto Pearson Airport, effective March 2020. The Los Angeles Board of Airport Commissioners will be conducting an international search for a new CEO.


Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said, “Deborah is an extraordinary leader whose ingenuity, patience, and uncommon commitment have helped bring LAX to the doorstep of transformational change. She has put in motion all the key pieces of LAX’s modernization, from the contracts and groundbreakings for the Automated People Mover train and other state-of-the-art facilities to the team that will build the airport of the future to welcome the world in 2028. Our loss is Toronto’s gain — but her time in Los Angeles will be remembered for strengthening our work to improve the traveler experience for Angelenos and millions of visitors throughout the world.”


“Since Mayor Garcetti first made appointments to our Board of Airport Commissioners six years ago, we have taken enormous steps forward to bring Los Angeles the airport it deserves,” said Sean O. Burton, President, Los Angeles Board of Airport Commissioners. “As CEO since June 2015, Deborah Flint has been at the forefront of that transformation, and she has put in place governance structures and a first-class team that will carry our $14 billion capital improvement program through to completion. The Board is committed to finishing what we started in 2013 on LAX’s modernization and transformation and will ensure we have strong leadership to carry out Mayor Garcetti’s vision.”

Since being appointed by Mayor Garcetti in June 2015, Flint has led LAWA in executing the Mayor’s vision for world-class airports at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and Van Nuys Airport (VNY). She has spearheaded the approval and start of construction on more than $14 billion in projects. This includes an Automated People mover train, a Consolidated Rent-A-Car facility, the Intermodal Transportation Facility – West, a new Airport Police Facility and bringing the Midfield Satellite Concourse almost to completion, all of which are solidly moving forward and have strong oversight framework in place.

Flint has also helped usher in a new focus on technology and innovation, sustainability and improving the guest experience, which will continue to be a focus of LAWA. She focused on creating a foundation for decision-making that is based on metrics and data, and worked with the leadership team to implement a collaborative, disciplined and accountable decision-making approach that is a model for fiscal responsibility in delivery of capital programs.


“I am incredibly grateful to Mayor Garcetti, the Los Angeles City Council, and the Board of Airport Commissioners for the opportunity to lead Los Angeles World Airports, and incredibly proud of what we have accomplished over the past four and a half years,” said Deborah Flint, CEO, LAWA. “It is bittersweet to be leaving LAWA, but, as a Canadian-born airport executive, I am looking forward to this homecoming and to leading Toronto Pearson, a rising and notable star on the international airport stage. It has been my honor to sign the contracts, put shovels in the ground, and implement robust oversight programs for some of the most ambitious projects at any airport in the world and in Los Angeles history. I look forward to watching the amazing LAWA team bring these projects to fruition and truly achieve our vision of gold standard airports, delivered.”


Flint will continue in her role as CEO at LAWA through March 2020. The Board of Airport Commissioners is expected to begin its international search for the next CEO shortly.

About Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)

LAX, the fourth-busiest airport in the world and second busiest in the United States, was named a top-10 U.S. airport by SKYTRAX. LAX served more than 87.5 million passengers in 2018 and offers an average of 700 daily nonstop flights to 109 cities in the U.S. and 1,281 weekly nonstop flights to 93 markets in 47 countries on 69 commercial airlines. LAX ranks 10th in the world in air cargo tonnage processed, with more than 2.4 million tons of air cargo. LAX handled 707,883 operations (landings and takeoffs) in 2018.  


LAX generated 620,600 jobs in Southern California, with labor income of $37.3 billion and economic output (business revenues) of more than $126.6 billion, according to an economic study based on 2014 operations. This activity added $6.2 billion to local and state revenues and $8.7 billion in federal tax revenues. The study also reported that LAX’s ongoing capital improvement program creates an additional 121,640 annual jobs with labor income of $7.6 billion and economic output of $20.3 billion; $966 million in state and local taxes; and $1.6 billion in federal tax revenues.

 

LAX was honored as having the “Best Overall Customer Service Program” by Airports Council International-North America; named the “Best Airport for Breastfeeding Moms” by Mamava; selected for the Top 10 “Best of the U.S.’s Big Airports” (Wall Street Journal) and “Most Pet-Friendly Airports in the U.S. (Mental Floss); named the second-most improved airport in the U.S. by JD Power; received an “Innovation Award” from the L.A. Better Business Challenge for its Central Utility Plant; and named  a “Business Leader in Air Quality” by the South Coast Air Quality Management District.

LAX is also the second-most popular airport in the world to appear on Instagram, according to wego.com. LAX is part of a system of two Southern California airports – along with Van Nuys general aviation – that are owned and operated by Los Angeles World Airports, a proprietary department of the City of Los Angeles that receives no funding from the City’s general fund.   


As a covered entity under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the City of Los Angeles does not discriminate on the basis of disability and, upon request, will provide reasonable accommodation to ensure equal access to its programs, services, and activities.  Alternative formats in large print, braille, audio, and other forms (if possible) will be provided upon request. 

 

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