New airport authority chief seeks more flights
The new leader of the Columbus Regional Airport Authority missed his official hiring Tuesday — because his flight from Detroit was delayed.
Joseph R. Nardone was named Tuesday to oversee operations and development of the John Glenn Columbus International Airport, Rickenbacker Airport and Bolton Field, capping a months-long national search.
Nardone is CEO of Michigan’s Wayne County Airport Authority, which oversees the Detroit Metropolitan Airport — the 18th- busiest in the United States by passenger count. He will succeed Elaine Roberts, who retires on Friday.
Torrance A. “Tory” Richardson, chief strategy officer of the Columbus authority, will serve as interim director until Nardone starts Jan. 16.
Nardone’s flight delay came as a result of several
factors, he explained, that were beyond the control of the airport he currently oversees, including weather and delayed aircraft arrival.
The Detroit airport, a hub airport with nearly 140 daily flights including multiple international flights, is among the busiest in the U. S. At 34.4 million, its 2016 passenger count was four and a half times greater than the 7.3 million at the John Glenn airport.
In a phone interview, Nardone said he was looking forward to working with government officials and the business community in Columbus, the area often praised for its public- private partnerships. He said attracting more flights to business destinations was at the top of the to- do list, particularly for business leaders he’s met with in Columbus.
He cautioned that it is very competitive today to secure new routes. Columbus is not a hub where passengers make
connecting flights — so some of his job, he said, will be “about managing expectations” of people hoping to get Detroit- level air service.
Nardone said it’s always easiest to try to work with existing airlines to gain more service than to attract a new airline, although Columbus has landed two new low-cost carriers — Frontier and Spirit airlines — in the past two years.
The Columbus airport authority’s board chairwoman, Susan Tomasky, and board member Terrance
Williams, who led the search committee for a new CEO, said they liked Nardone’s combination of experience in the public, private and nonprofit sectors.
Prior to joining the Wayne County Airport Authority, Nardone served as the director of Southgate Properties, a nonprofit with multimilliondollar real estate transactions, and led economicdevelopment efforts for the city of Taylor, Michigan.
Stephen Lyons, executive vice president of the Columbus
Partnership, said he had not yet met with Nardone but was encouraged by his resume.
“From what I know of his background, we are more than excited to welcome Joe in to this community,” Lyons said. “We’re looking to leverage the opportunity we have with the airport ... Moving goods and people in and out of our region has become more important than ever to increase our economic competitiveness.”
Kenny McDonald, president and CEO of
Columbus 2020, said his regional economicdevelopment group looks forward to working with Nardone “to continue building one of the most competitive business locations in the world. Our region accounts for a third of Ohio’s GDP growth, so there is a great need to strengthen air service to key markets and build infrastructure at John Glenn and Rickenbacker international airports to support our global customers.”