Justin Meyer has been named interim director of the Kansas City Aviation Department.

Meyer, the department’s deputy director of marketing and air service development, started in his new role Thursday, following the retirement of former director Pat Klein on Wednesday.

“I’m grateful for the opportunity to temporarily lead this organization and am looking forward to a bright future for Kansas City and air travel,” Meyer said in a phone call Friday morning.

An aviation veteran with 15 years at the department, dating to 2006, Meyer in recent years helped oversee and design aspects of Kansas City International Airport’s $1.5 billion new terminal, which opened Feb. 28.

His leadership begins as several airlines add or reinstate flights out of KCI, and airport traffic this year has regularly rivaled pre-pandemic levels.

KCI reported 3.35 million passenger arrivals and departures between January and April, its latest published data shows, and Meyer said this year’s Memorial Day weekend saw the airport’s highest levels of travel since the same holiday window in 2019.

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