Former deputy executive director assumes the top role on October 1, while Thane Seeley steps into the deputy post across the authority’s four-airport network.
Ryan Collins became executive director of the Susquehanna Area Regional Airport Authority effective October 1, 2026.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Ryan Collins became SARAA executive director effective October 1, 2026, after serving as deputy executive director since March 2024.
- The appointment advances a succession timetable that SARAA had previously set for January 1, 2027.
- SARAA oversees Harrisburg International Airport and three general aviation airports across Central Pennsylvania.
- Thane Seeley, hired in August from Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport, has taken over Collins’ former deputy executive director role.
(NEWS) MIDDLETOWN, Pennsylvania, United States, 2026-Oct-02 — /Travel PR News/ — A leadership handover originally scheduled for the start of 2027 has moved forward at the authority overseeing Harrisburg International Airport and three general aviation facilities in Central Pennsylvania. The Susquehanna Area Regional Airport Authority (SARAA) has named Ryan Collins, A.A.E., ACE, executive director effective October 1, 2026, elevating him from the deputy executive director role he had held since joining the organisation in March 2024.
The change gives Collins responsibility for an airport system that includes Harrisburg International Airport (HIA), Capital City Airport, Franklin County Regional Airport and Gettysburg Regional Airport. According to SARAA’s published airport-system history, the authority owns all four facilities, with HIA serving as the system’s principal commercial airport and the other three supporting general aviation across the region.
The timing marks a shift from the succession plan announced earlier this year. In January, SARAA said Collins would succeed longtime executive director Timothy J. Edwards on January 1, 2027. The authority’s October 1 leadership update makes Collins’ appointment effective immediately, bringing the transition forward by three months. Board chairman William Leonard also thanked Edwards for more than two decades of service and wished him and his family well in retirement.
Collins arrived at SARAA after a nationwide search for a deputy executive director. In that position, his portfolio covered airport operations, security and public safety, maintenance, the authority’s general aviation airports and human resources. He is an Accredited Airport Executive with the American Association of Airport Executives, holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Aviation/Air Traffic Management from Daniel Webster College and serves on the board of directors of the association’s Northeast Chapter.
His airport-management background includes serving as director of operations and maintenance at Milwaukee’s General Mitchell International Airport, airport operations manager for the Massachusetts Port Authority at Worcester Regional Airport, and airport operations specialist and firefighter at Martha’s Vineyard Airport.
Collins said his priorities include improving the passenger experience, strengthening the airport system’s relationship with surrounding communities and making the economic contribution of SARAA’s airports more visible across Central Pennsylvania. He also highlighted workforce support as a central part of the leadership agenda, describing investment in staff as essential to the authority’s continued progress.
The leadership change comes after a period of strong traffic growth at HIA. SARAA reported earlier in 2026 that the airport handled a record 1.62 million passengers in 2025, giving the new executive team a backdrop of rising demand as it manages airline service, airport operations and capital priorities across the system.
Continuity in the senior management structure is also taking shape beneath Collins. SARAA hired Thane Seeley in August 2026 from Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport to take over Collins’ former position as deputy executive director. The move places Seeley in the operational leadership role Collins held while preparing for the authority’s top job.
For travellers and aviation partners in Central Pennsylvania, the transition puts a familiar executive in charge of a system that spans both commercial and general aviation. Collins has framed the next phase around service growth, passenger experience, community engagement and support for the teams operating SARAA’s four airports.
