Page 22 - AHATA

A14 LOCAL
Friday 6 September 2019

Joost Meijs officially took

over the CEO position at

Aruba Airport Authority N.V.

ORANJESTAD – After the announcement back in March
2019 by Aruba Airport Authority N.V. (AAA) that its CEO
Mr. James Fazio has decided to pursue other career op-
portunities, it was later announced in April 2019 that Mr.
Joost Meijs, ex-CEO of Eindhoven Airport, will take over
the responsibilities of Mr. Fazio as the new AAA CEO.

In the presence of his Excellency Governor of Aruba Mr.
Alfonso Boekhoudt, her Excellency Prime Minister of Aruba
Mrs. Evelyn Wever Croes, his Excellency Minister of Tourism
Mr. Dangui Oduber, his Excellency Minister of Justice Mr.
Andin Bikker, Chairperson of the Board of Supervisory Di-
rectors Mrs. Marion Kan together with other airport stake-
holders and partners, the outgoing AAA CEO Mr. James
Fazio symbolically handed over the vital airport position
over to incoming AAA CEO Mr. Joost Meijs with a con-
struction hard hat, safety vest and shovel.
“The airport is transitioning from the planning to the con-
struction phase of the Gateway 2030 project and I’m
excited to hand over the CEO position to Mr. Meijs who
will now lead, guide and motivate the entire team to
reach the airport’s expansion goal. I am convinced that
the tourism and aviation partners and stakeholders will
provide Mr. Meijs with the same heartfelt guidance and
trust that was given to me. My five years at Aruba Airport
couldn’t have been this successful without that support
that I’m sure Mr. Meijs will also receive. I want to empha-
size that I very much enjoyed my time in Aruba and I feel
honored to have been trusted to lead Aruba’s national
airport for the past 5 years,” said Mr. Fazio during his fare-
well speech.
All Excellences present expressed their gratitude for Mr.
Fazio’s efforts and at the same time wished Mr. Meijs the
best of luck in the years ahead leading the airport team
to the next milestones, as Mr. Meijs will be responsible for
the development of management and the organization,
maintaining contacts with external stakeholders, and will
oversee the airport’s redevelopment, as it starts a signifi-
cant 5-year capital investment and construction program
with a value of 300 million USD.
“I am ready to start this new journey with a lot of enthu-
siasm and determination to concretize what the entire
team has visualized during the initial stages of the Gate-
way 2030 project. I thank Mr. Fazio for his guidance pro-
vided to the airport team the last 5 years and it is now
my commitment to ensure that we cross the Gateway
2030 finish line with an airport we can all be very proud of,
“said Mr. Meijs during his first speech to all airport partners
and stakeholders as the new AAA CEO.q