New president for Hamilton’s airport
Drawing more passenger traffic remains a priority for operators
A new pilot is taking the controls of Hamilton’s airport on Aug. 2.
That’s when veteran Air Canada executive Vijay Bathija will replace Frank Scremin as head of TradePort International Corporation, the company that operates the city-owned airport under a long-term lease.
Scremin, who has led John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport since 2012, is taking off for a new position as second in command at New York City’s LaGuardia Airport. LaGuardia’s management was taken over June 1 by Vantage Airports, TradePort’s parent company.
TradePort chair Ron Foxcroft called Scremin’s four-year run as president a “legendary career” that left the Mount Hope facility in a strong position.
“Frank has had a legendary career in Hamilton,” Foxcroft said. “The airport has done very well under his leadership.”
In an announcement to airport staff and tenants Tuesday, Foxcroft said Bathija will be responsible for building up cargo and passenger business.
“Vijay has relationships in both the passenger and cargo fields and we believe we can capitalize on that,” he said. “We want to increase passengers through Hamilton International and also grow the cargo business.”
Bathija is a 20-year veteran of Canada’s aviation industry, spending the past nine years with Air Canada, most recently as vicepresident, commercial with Air Canada Leisure Group, which includes Air Canada Vacations and Air Canada Rouge.
He was also part of the management team that launched Rouge, a leisure carrier that plans to start service from Hamilton. Air Canada Express is already flying between Hamilton and Montreal.
In previous positions he has served as senior director of network planning at Air Canada, consultant with Sabre Airline Solutions, and progressively senior roles with Canadian Airlines International.
TradePort won a 40-year contract to manage Hamilton’s airport in 1996, over another company, by promising to turn the Mount Hope field into a passenger destination. For a while, it seemed that goal was within reach when passenger volume grew to 1 million people a year while WestJet used Hamilton as its eastern hub.
WestJet took off for the more promising fields of Toronto in 2004 and passenger volume plunged to about 325,000.
In recent years the volume has been slowly regaining altitude as new airlines try out Hamilton, including Air Canada (via Rouge) and NewLeaf Travel Co., which books seats for Flair Airline.
Bathija holds an MBA from Queen’s University in Kingston and a bachelor of commerce degree from the University of Delhi.
Scremin’s transfer to LaGuardia puts two Hamilton airport veterans in charge of the New York facility. Former TradePort chief financial officer Stewart Steeves is now in charge of the operation after serving as president of Vantage’s Nassau airport.
“That just shows how strong the Vantage team is,” Foxcroft said. “I’m sure we can leverage that opportunity Vantage now has at LaGuardia to benefit Hamilton.”
Vijay has relationships in … passenger and cargo fields and we believe we can capitalize on that. RON FOXCROFT TRADEPORT CHAIR