Albany Airport leaders look to change expansion completion dates

Albany County lawmakers have pushed back a vote on Albany International Airport’s proposed capital plan.

That decision is now in the hands of the Albany County Audit & Finance Committee.

The airport’s new chief executive officer and chief operations officer said they want to divide the timeline for work into five phases.

Leaders said they need to renegotiate completion dates with contractors.      

Work is expected to be done in 2026.

Interim COO John O’Donnell said he hopes to have those new dates by the board’s meeting next month.

While the airport moves forward with its capital plan – the authority board has agreed to new deals with its acting CEO and COO. This means the two men will keep the new leadership in place at least through the end of the project.

Peter Stuto took over as CEO. This came after the departure of Phil Calderone last month.

Both the CEO and COO will be paid $100 per hour at a minimum of a 1,000 working hours a year. The final terms are still being negotiated, according to an airport representative.

Calderone’s 2024 salary was $227,000.