The new person in charge of the Langley Regional Airport is the son of the previous manager.
Guy Miller took over from his father George Miller as manager of the airport on Jan. 3.
The information was disclosed in a March 28 memo by the Langley Township engineering division.
The memo was released at the request of Councillor Kim Richter.
The older Miller confirmed the change in an interview with The Times on Wednesday.
“It was an arrangement that I hoped would happen for some time,” George Miller said. “I wanted him [Guy] to succeed me as airport manager.”
The elder Miller has managed the airport under a contract with his company, Avcon Consulting, since 1990. His son has been working with him for several years.
The father said he will continue working on the airport for the Township as a consultant.
“Really nothing different than I’ve been doing.”
He said he is looking forward to working with his son to develop the airport over the long term.
“We really enjoy working together.”
He added the switch from a contract to a full-time Township job meant his son had to compete for the position, to apply and follow municipal hiring procedures.
The March 28 engineering memo said Miller was one of 12 applicants for the position.
“Although many of the applicants had a current pilot licence and post-secondary education related to airport aviation, their experiences were more related to traffic control or pilot instruction,” the memo stated.
“The successful applicant, Guy Miller, met the required qualifications whose knowledge, skills and abilities included an acceptable level of airport management experience, proven safety management record and extensive local knowledge of both the Langley Regional Airport and Township of Langley.”
As for the impact of the new arrangement on costs, the memo stated “There are no finance implications with funding provided from existing budgets related to airport operations.”