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Oklahoma Airport Exec Resigns As Will Rogers Work Nears Completion

Posted on: Friday, 16 September 2005, 21:00 CDT

Sep. 16--When airplanes stopped flying the day of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Airports Director Luther Trent and city officials pondered their plan to put $110 million into the renovation of the Will Rogers Airport.

A contract had just been awarded, but work to transform the drab, cramped terminal into an open, airy space hadn't begun in 2001.

"We weren't sure how it was going to change," Trent said. "We couldn't really not go ahead with it. We had to be ready for when people did start flying again."

With renovations nearly complete at the airport, Trent stepped down as director of airports Thursday after 25 years with the city. Trent, 61, plans to continue teaching as an adjunct professor at Oklahoma City Community College.

Trent, who began his career in the accounting department at the airport, has been the director of Oklahoma City's airports since 1993.

"Luther is an extremely conservative administrator who makes decisions based on the best information available to him," said Don Bown, former Oklahoma City manager and chairman of the Oklahoma City Airports Trust. "He will be very hard to replace. He's a good credit to Oklahoma City and the aeronautic community in the state."

Trent steps away from his job at a time when the Will Rogers World Airport is poised for expansion and businesses are clamoring for hangar space at Wiley Post Airport in Bethany.

As director of airports, Trent was in charge of operations at Will Rogers, Wiley Post and the Clarence E. Page Airport, near Yukon. The airport trust recently awarded a contract to a consulting firm that would research whether it would be profitable to expand air service in Oklahoma City. The terminal is nearing completion with new restaurants and a state-of-the-art baggage screening system in the basement.

Challenges of balancing growth amid the increasingly unstable airline business will greet the new director. John Goodwin, maintenance manager at the airport, will serve as interim director.

More than 60 people have applied for the job to replace Trent. Interviews for finalists are expected to begin soon and a new director should be appointed in the next few weeks, City Manager Jim Couch said.

"It would have to be somebody who is No. 2 at a big airport or No. 1 at a smaller airport," Couch said. "It would have to be somebody with experience."

The new director also has to match Trent's enthusiasm for the job. Walking through the new terminal, Trent's face lights up when he talks about the new food vendors and stores that now line the concourse.

"It's just a marvel how we took an old terminal and made this dramatic change," Trent said. "What we have is a new front door for Oklahoma City that's enjoyable to passengers."

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Source: The Daily Oklahoman

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