LAWA Gets New Executive Director

In an effort to modernize and improve area airports, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa joined El Segundo Mayor Kelly McDowell and city council members Bill Rosendahl and Janice Hahn to announce the appointment of Gina Marie Lindsey as the new executive director of Los Angeles World Airports. Lindsey brings 16 years of experience in airport management and a record of success in renovating and expanding international airports. She will be tasked with continuing Mayor Villaraigosa's modernization and regionalization efforts, as well as developing new initiatives to update airport services. Lindsey is the former managing director of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. Over the course of her tenure in Seattle, she conceived and implemented a $4.1 billion effort that included the construction of a new runway, the remodeling of the airport concourse and the expansion of the central terminal. In light of projections indicating that air traffic into Los Angeles will double by 2030 (ExpressJet and United Airlines are recent additions), the mayor announced that some flights would be diverted to LA/Ontario International and LA/Palmdale Regional airports in an effort to ease overcrowding at LAX.