Mar. 7—Less than two months after JetBlue finally arrived in Manchester, Airport Director Ted Kitchens announced his departure.
Kitchens on Friday said he would leave his post as director of aviation at the Manchester-Boston Regional Airport next month.
Kitchens guided the airport through the pandemic and brought in new airlines in recent years.
"I have accomplished the goals that I had when I arrived six years ago: the airport is financially stable; we have been able to attract new air service for the airport, as exemplified by the recent commitment made by JetBlue; and to build organizational resiliency that enabled us to not only survive the pandemic, but to come out of the period in a stronger situation," Kitchens said in his resignation letter to city officials.
His last day will be April 4.
Kitchens was the highest-paid city employee, earning nearly $250,000, in fiscal year 2023.
At a ceremony to celebrate JetBlue's inaugural flight from Manchester in January, JetBlue President Marty St. George credited Kitchens with landing the airline after a quarter century of previous airport directors wooing JetBlue.
"I will say that I've been through multiple airport directors, multiple durations of trying to decide if Manchester made sense, and I give Ted credit for closing the deal," St. George said.
Mayor Jay Ruais praised what Kitchens has accomplished for Manchester.
Kitchens "has attracted five airlines, constructed a 64,000-square-foot cargo warehouse used by Amazon that created 300 full-time jobs for Manchester residents, tripled the amount of federal funding for capital development projects, diversified airport revenue streams, and restructured 70% of its long-term debt," the mayor said in a statement.
"His tenure will be most remembered for bringing JetBlue to the airport, along with its $48 million investment," Ruais said.
Kitchens said he plans to "pursue new horizons and turn the airport over to new management to build upon the sound foundation that exists."
During a recent interview with the New Hampshire Union Leader, Kitchens talked about the airport's successes in drawing new airlines.
"I think that overall '24 was probably the best year of growth for the airport since the early 2000s when Southwest was making massive investments of their aircraft into the market and growing the market from '98 until 2005. And I think those were the glory years as everybody likes to refer to them," Kitchens said in a recent interview.
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