Aviation consultant to temporarily lead Boulder Municipal Airport

BOULDER — David Ruppel, a consultant with Aviation Management Consulting Group, has been tapped to serve as interim manager of the Boulder Municipal Airport (BDU) as city officials conduct a nationwide search for a permanent airport leader to replace John Kinney, who left Boulder last month to for a job as director of the Northern Colorado Regional Airport (FNL) in Loveland. 

The appointment continues a game of musical chairs being played in recent years by leaders of FNL and BDU. Before ex-BDU chief Kinney was hired to lead the airport in Loveland, Ruppel served as FNL’s interim director for about a year prior to the hiring of Francis Robbins, who was named FNL’s acting director in July. 

“With an active aviation community in Boulder, our staff has worked hard to ensure smooth airport operations during this transition,” Boulder city manager Nuria Rivera-Vandermyde said in a prepared statement. “Dave’s expertise will help us continue the specialized work of running an airport responsibly and safely while we continue searching for a long-term airport manager.”

In addition to temporarily heading FNL, Ruppel’s resume includes leadership roles with the Colorado Air and Space Port, Yampa Valley Regional Airport and the U.S. Navy.

Both the Boulder Municipal Airport and Northern Colorado Regional Airport have been the source of significant drama in recent months.

A push to decommission BDU gained — and subsequently lost — momentum this year. The airport site, which sits on 180 city-owned acres between neighborhoods and business parks in east Boulder, is viewed by some Boulder residents and city officials as underutilized in its current use and would serve the community better if it redeveloped into an affordable-housing community. 

A local lobbying group ran a successful petition drive for two ballot measures related to the decommissioning of Boulder Municipal Airport for the purpose of building housing on the site, but withdrew those petitions prior to November’s election.

The city government has been exploring the concept of closing BDU, going so far as to preemptively sue the Federal Aviation Administration, which has opposed all decommissioning efforts.

Prior to Kinney’s hiring in October, Northern Colorado Regional Airport had been without a permanent leader for more than a year. FNL has been governed by a seven-member commission consisting of government and citizen representatives of Loveland and Fort Collins since 2015. Denver-based Daniel S. Reimer LLC conducted a study in December 2023, recommending changes to the airport’s structure, noting that few agreed that its governance framework was working.

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