Danette Bewley

BizTUCSONApril 20, 2026

2 minutes read

President & Chief Executive Officer
Tucson Airport Authority
Chamber Board Member

What opportunities do you see for your business here in the next several years?

Tucson Airport Authority (TAA) recognizes that it is essential we maintain a reasonable cost structure that balances the annual operating and capital budget against projected revenues and remains attractive to the airlines. TAA actively collaborates with the airlines to increase route frequency and expand our air service. TAA also pursues non-aeronautical opportunities to grow the revenue base and diversify our portfolio. This offsets direct costs to the airlines while making the TAA financial model more resilient. There is significant interest in TAA’s non-aeronautical land. Over the next few years, that will result in several new businesses at our airports.

What issues keep you up at night?

I am always concerned about the uncertainty of the economy and how it may impact the aviation sector. Specifically, my focus is on how economic fluctuations may affect airports, airlines, general aviation, traveler trends, inflation (cost of fuel, construction, etc.), and Administration changes that may focus on new priorities and new regulations, to name a few.

Are there any exciting updates in your industry or business you want to highlight?

Recently, the Appropriations Committee (federal government) authorized the spending authority to support the Federal Aviation Reauthorization Act of 2024, which provides increased funding levels from $3.35 billion to $4 billion for airports. Among other items, this budget provides for Airport Improvement Program funds, which airports rely on for federal grants to match Airport funds for eligible infrastructure projects. The TAA has been extremely successful in obtaining grant funds for the ongoing $400 million Airfield Safety Enhancement Program, which modernizes the airfield in accordance with new safety standards. The TAA has led the nation for the last two years in largest grant awards.

How can The Chamber help you going forward?

The Chamber can help the TAA promote the “Fly Tucson First” campaign, which encourages local business to fly local, fly TUS. Participating businesses receive perks to make flying TUS even easier. More details on ‘Fly Tucson First’ can be found on Flytucson.com. Airlines make route decisions based on actual flown data. Therefore, when businesses choose to fly TUS, the TAA can collect critical data points that can be used with the airlines to illustrate the strength of our market and grow our route network. When businesses choose to fly from Phoenix, it takes away from our market. Flying TUS today is the only way to grow for tomorrow.