The bicounty board that oversees the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport named an interim executive director and authorized a nationwide search for a permanent replacement.
It comes after Executive Director Carl Beardsley Jr., who began his tenure at the airport in January 2015, went on sabbatical late last year.
Airport co-solicitor Donald Frederickson said Friday that Beardsley remains on sabbatical and is unable to return “at the present time.” He also confirmed Beardsley’s absence is not related to a disciplinary issue, but said he couldn’t comment further on the personnel matter.
Against that backdrop, the airport board made up of officials from Lackawanna and Luzerne counties announced Friday the appointment of Stephen Mykulyn, the airport’s director of engineering for the past 16 years, as interim executive director. Assistant Executive Director BJ Teichman had served as temporary acting director since Beardsley went on sabbatical.
The board also announced that it formally authorized a nationwide search for the next executive director, suggesting Beardsley likely won’t return in that capacity.
The search will “focus on identifying an experienced leader who can continue to build on the Airport’s momentum, strengthen airline partnerships, expand service opportunities, and support the Airport’s role as a key economic driver for the region,” officials said in a press release.
Lackawanna County Commissioner Chris Chermak, the chairman of the airport board, was also limited in what he could say about Beardsley.
“We certainly hope the best for Carl, but moving forward it’s so important for us to keep the airport functioning the way it should be,” Chermak said. “The reason why I really wanted to get (Mykulyn) moved over is just because … he’s been there a long time, he’s got a lot of knowledge, everyone in the airport respects him and he’s just an all-around good guy.”
“He’ll have BJ (Teichman) to assist him to keep that place going,” Chermak said. “And then hopefully we’ll get somebody soon. I’m hoping for a very good person, like Carl.”
Beardsley, whose tenure as executive director began in January 2015, served as the commissioner of aviation for Broome County, New York, since 2005. Broome County owns and its department of aviation operates the Greater Binghamton Airport in New York’s Southern Tier.
As director of AVP, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton airport’s Federal Aviation Administration codename, Beardsley helped the airport navigate the COVID-19 pandemic and celebrated in early 2024 the addition of Breeze Airways as its newest carrier. Airport officials have enjoyed a trend of strong boarding numbers and other metrics in recent years.
Efforts to reach Beardsley were not immediately successful.