Allegheny County Airport Authority CEO gets raise, $184K bonus
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The Allegheny County Airport Authority board on Friday granted a major pay raise and bonus for CEO Christina Cassotis.
The board unanimously voted to give Cassotis a 23% salary increase over what she was expected to earn in 2022, bringing her annual salary this year to $534,000.
She also was given a performance bonus of $184,500.
The board on Friday approved a measure to extend her contract by two years, meaning she will continue to serve in the role through 2027.
Allegheny County Airport Authority Chairman David Minnotte commended Cassotis and the airport team for pressing forward in the midst of a pandemic that slowed progress for many others in the industry.
He highlighted her successes in breaking ground on a new terminal and commissioning a microgrid that generates power for the airport using natural gas and solar energy. She created a new cargo and logistics industry at the airport that is creating new jobs and secured the return of British Airways to London Heathrow, allowing easy travel to Europe.
Related:
• Pittsburgh International Airport’s $1 billion modernization project back on track
• Nonstop flights from Pittsburgh to London return in 2022 via British Airways
All this was done while keeping the Airport Authority under budget, Minnotte said.
“Christina — and the team she has built — continues to oversee the robust recovery of passengers and airline service from the pandemic downturn,” Minnotte said.
This is her seventh year in the position.
Minnotte said Cassotis’s pay is “in line with what other airports nationally and internationally are paying to secure and keep top talent.”
Salaries for airport directors have recently risen, he said, and they need to pay competitively as there is “intense competition for talent” nationwide.
“Salaries must be reflective of their work,” he said.
The airport authority’s budget is not funded by county taxpayer dollars, Minnotte said.