Director of Aviation Richard McCurley, I.A.P, C.M.

Before being appointed to Director of Aviation for the City of Albuquerque, Richard McCurley served as Deputy Director since 2020. He brought strong operational experience to the Aviation Department and continues to build on the great work he and his team have carried out these past two years.

Previous to his time in Albuquerque, he most recently worked for the Rhode Island Airport Corporation in the role of Chief of Staff and Interim Senior Vice President. In addition to Airside and Landside Operations and Maintenance, his responsibilities included Human Resources, Marketing, Air Services Development, Legal, Labor Management, and Public Safety – Fire and Police.

Mr. McCurley worked for the Houston Airport System for 29 years. During that time, Mr. McCurley served in several positions, most recently Interim General Manager and Division Manager of Operations at William P. Hobby Airport. His numerous accomplishments included leading Hobby Airport (HOU) to achieve a 4-Star Airport rating by SkyTrax World Airport and Airline Rankings in 2017 and 2018; leading Hobby Airport through Hurricane Harvey, which included the coordination of closing the airport; and directing Hobby Airport through Super Bowl 51 logistics, which included the arrival and departure of over 300 parked aircraft for the game.

Mr. McCurley holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from the University of Houston – Clear Lake and is accredited as an International Airport Professional (IAP) through the Global ACI-ICAO Airport Management Professional Accreditation Program and is a Certified Member (C.M.) of the American Association of Airport Executives.