ORLANDO, Fla. – Former Seattle-Tacoma International Airport Managing Aviation Director Lance Lyttle is expected to take over as Orlando International Airport (MCO) CEO this month.
Lyttle is replacing retiring MCO CEO Kevin Thibault, who started in March 2022.
Thibault has been front and center for the September 2022 completion and current airside expansion of the $2.8 billion south terminal, known as Terminal C.
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Orlando, of course, is the No. 1 tourist destination in the United States. Largely because of that, MCO is the seventh busiest in the country.
In 2024, MCO served nearly 60 million passengers, only the latest record to be broken, a 10% increase from 2023.
2023 set a then-record with 57.7 million passengers.
Thibault said between 2022 and 2023, MCO’s passenger traffic grew 15%.
What does MCO’s future look like with a new guy in charge? How will the airport keep up with Central Florida’s growth?
The “old” guy in charge — Thibault — will give News 6 Anchor Erik von Ancken one last interview Tuesday afternoon before his departure.
Thibault had nothing to do with the cost-cutting decision at the start of the Pandemic to delete planned moving walkways in Terminal C that would have eased the nearly mile-long walk from check-in to gates. Nor was he around for the financial decision to pause construction of an enclosed pedestrian walkway from the tram and train stations at Terminal C to the check-in counters.
But he did decide to bring both back. The passenger walkway is nearly complete, and Thibault oversaw the decision to add “pit-less” raised moving walkways to the newest terminal.
Thibault has also been vocal about adding a “vertiport” at MCO from where vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) air taxis can launch and shuttle passengers to their final destination around Central Florida.
Thibault has said the South Terminal Complex is the future. Another 24 gates will eventually open at Terminal C, and plans for another terminal — Terminal D — are in the works.
“Terminal C, when it’s fully done, will have 60 million passengers,” Thibault said during an International Drive Chamber of Commerce luncheon in March 2024. “Terminal D will have 60 million passengers. Terminals A and B, 25 million passengers. That’s what it really was designed for. We’ve eked out more capacity on that thing than we really should have.”
A consolidated rental car facility (CONRAC) is also in MCO’s long-term plans.
Thibault said the goal is to build the CONRAC on the south side of the airport near the 417. Orlando is the world’s largest car rental market, according to the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority (GOAA).
News 6′s Erik Von Ancken spoke with Thibault about his expectations moving forward:
Von Ancken: “Kevin, you have overseen so many projects to completion. You’ve overseen projects that are currently in the works, things like CONRAC (Consolidated Car Rental Facility), the pedestrian bridge, the moving walkways that are going in, how do you feel leaving in some cases in the middle of some of these projects and turning it over to a new guy?”
Thibault: “So Erik, actually I feel good, in that many aspects for Lance everything’s teed up. It’s ready to go.”
Von Ancken: “Any concerns about things that you have set in motion that might not continue?”
Thibault: “No, there’s no regrets. I think everything is in position for it to move to the next level.”
Von Ancken: “Without the growth of MCO, the growth of Central Florida doesn’t happen. They go hand in hand. It’s critical what you’re doing here, as you know, and seems like your plans, especially adding a terminal D down the road, are all part of that growth plan. It has to continue, you see it continuing?”
Thibault: “People are still moving here to Central Florida. The number may fluctuate a little bit, on the number of, you know, net people moving into the Central Florida area, but they’re still moving here, and you’re exactly right, you’ve heard me say in some of my presentations, the $41 billion economic impact annually that we provide for the region, just as much as Disney has.”
Von Ancken: “Kevin, would love to know what you think of the new guy? His experience. Lance Lyttle of course. And did you have any say in selecting him?”
Thibault: “So the second part, no, absolutely, the board independently did their thing. And Lance has a great background. He’s going to do a tremendous job, you know, rooted in IT. So we talked about technology. So he should be leaning in on that.”
