MONTEREY – Monterey Regional Airport will see its Executive Director fly off into the sunset as Mike La Pier retires next year concluding eight years of service.
“It is with great pride that I announce my retirement as the Executive Director of Monterey Regional Airport (MRY) effective June 6, 2025,” La Pier said in his letter of resignation to the Monterey Peninsula Airport District Board of Directors and airport staff. “While the original plan was to stay through the completion of the new terminal building, slated for 2026, I believe the time has come for my departure.”
But the decision was a deeply personal one for the executive director.
La Pier said that the last couple of years “have been rough from a health perspective” as he was battling two different kinds of cancer – bladder and prostate.
“I’m OK,” he said. “Everything’s in remission.”
His decision to retire next year will provide him a springboard to enjoy life after a fruitful eight years at the helm of the Monterey airport.
After retirement late next spring, La Pier said that he and his wife “will stick around Monterey and live like tourists for the summer.” After that is a possible move to Tucson, where his wife’s mother has a home that the two visit about three to four times a year.
“We’re a little nervous about the heat,” said La Pier, adding it may not be the last place they live.
La Pier said that over the last nine years, most, if not all of the challenges the airport faced when he started have been met.
He said that when he first came on in 2016, the airport’s operating budget was $5.6 million and it had cash reserves of $2.8 million. But the recently-crafted 2025 budget by him and his staff provides for an operating budget of $13.7 million with a net positive income from operations of $2.4 million that will be added to the airport’s current reserve of $14 million.
Other accomplishments La Pier noted were the work he and his staff have done with the Federal Aviation Administration to secure more than $200 million in grant funding for projects at the airport including the new Aircraft Rescue and Fire Station, support infrastructure for a new replacement terminal including $44 million for a new ramp area and $16 million for a new auto parking lot currently under construction.
During his tenure as Executive Director, La Pier and his staff have recruited air service to Seattle, Denver, Dallas-Fort Worth and Minneapolis and increased the number of passenger enplanements from 183,000 to a projected 316,000 in Fiscal Year 2025.
The Monterey Regional Airport also competed and won a Small Community Air Service Development $750,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation to attract new non-stop service to Chicago O’Hare. Groundwork was laid with at least two airlines for future Chicago O’Hare service.
La Pier highlighted the fostered relationship with Visit Carmel and See Monterey, which has contributed to the effort to continue development of air service opportunities while adding to the successes the airport has seen.
Under La Pier and his staff, the Airport Master Plan was completed, and he and his team have worked with design professionals to have a nearly completed design of the new replacement terminal which will be ready to go to bid in November.
“During my over 40-year career in airport management, I have served as the CEO of several airports throughout the country,” said La Pier. “I have strived to bring passion and determination to each airport, hopefully leaving each one a bit better than I found it. I believe I have accomplished this goal during my tenure at Monterey Regional.
La Pier went on to thank the Board of Directors of the Monterey Peninsula Airport District for providing the policies and support that he said were vitally needed to achieve these successes.
He also expressed a deep gratitude to his staff for their efforts during his time at the airport.
“The entire Board of the Monterey Regional Airport commends Mike on a job well done,” said current Chair of the Monterey Peninsula Airport District Board of Directors Mary Ann Leffel in a press release. “He and the staff have navigated through numerous large construction projects, always delivering on time and on budget.”
Leffel added that La Pier and the staff’s relationship with FAA and the major airlines serving this region is the envy of many.
“The addition of new routes is in answer to the needs of our community, and coming through Covid without losing tenants was remarkable; always adding to the reserves in each fiscal year as the airport prepared for the current safety/modernization finale … a new terminal,” said Leffel. “We look forward to working with Mike and the team on finalizing the design and turning the dirt on the new gateway to the Monterey Region.”
La Pier said it typically takes six to nine months to find a replacement and that the Monterey Peninsula Airport District Board has already formed an ad-hoc committee consisting of incoming Chair Carl Miller and Boardmember Dino Pick.
The Monterey Regional Airport is Monterey County’s only commercial airport and accommodates over 500,000 passengers each year. The airport services eight nonstop markets consisting of Phoenix, Denver, Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Dallas and Las Vegas, with an average of 15 daily departures.
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