CLT's Jack Christine Retires

Around the holidays of his sophomore year in college, CLT Chief Infrastructure Officer Jack Christine flew home from Daytona Beach, Fla., to Philadelphia. His grandparents bought him the ticket, which included a layover in Charlotte — a stop that would ultimately change the course of his life.

“I landed in Charlotte, walked through the Atrium and I said to myself, ‘This is where I want to be, I want work here, I want to be in Charlotte,'" he said. “After that, I changed my major to essentially get an airport management degree.”

Upon graduating from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University in 1996, he worked for a year at an aviation nonprofit in Washington, D.C. “I did not want to be in that at all, so I really focused my attention on trying to get an airport job. I really wanted to be in Charlotte, so I proceeded to call the Human Resources manager at the time, pretty much every other week to ask if there was a job posting yet,” Christine said.

Persistence paid off. An aviation job was posted. He applied and got it. Now after 29 years of a very momentous career at CLT, he’s saying goodbye.

Christine originally joined the Aviation Department as an administrative officer, working for both Planning and Human Resources. “I was in that position only about six months. Then the airport planner left, and I started assuming his responsibilities. I didn’t get promoted, just started doing what he was doing to help the aviation director,” Christine said.

More responsibility and later promotions – as Airport planner and chief operating officer - continued his way over the years until eventually he was named to his current role as chief infrastructure officer. “My career has been blessed by the opportunity for growth and the experiences I have had that have helped me become an airport executive.”

In his nearly three decades at CLT, Christine has overseen construction of the third parallel runway, Rental Car/Hourly Deck, Express Decks, concourse renovations, Concourse A and E expansions, East Terminal Expansion, Terminal Lobby Expansion and Fourth Parallel Runway construction.

As he begins packing up his office to begin his next chapter as Raleigh Durham International Airport’s senior vice president/chief development officer, for him there is no question what he’ll miss most about CLT. “I'm going to miss the people, I'm going to miss working with everybody here,” Christine said. “It is an amazing group of people that did what we did here, and they are what I am going to miss the absolute most.”

His career in aviation, however, had a slight twist from his original plans. Growing up in Philadelphia, he had dreams of enlisting in the Air Force and eventually visiting space as an astronaut. “Back then you had to have 20/20 vision to be a pilot, and I did have that when I got to college but then I lost it,” Christine said. “I really didn’t know what to do initially when that happened, but I just knew that I wanted to be involved with aviation.”

Looking back, some of his most cherished memories at CLT were when employees throughout the Airport lent a helping hand. “Some of the snowstorms that we've been through here, those were lasting memories for me. The 14 inches of snow that we got in 2004, the 12 inches we got this past winter, those were really impactful to the Airport, the operation and to the people working to keep the Airport open and operational,” Christine said.

He’ll also never forget the events of Sept. 11 and seeing first-hand how it changed aviation, riding on the first airplane to land on the Third Parallel Runway when it opened in 2010 and seeing the start and finish of the Terminal Lobby Expansion (TLE). “The lobby had to continue to be built while we used the existing facility every day,” he said. “So, in order to be successful in adding the expansion, it involved every group in the Aviation Department and our external stakeholders TSA, the airlines, Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department, Charlotte Fire Department, everyone. Everyone who touched that building for five and a half years was either impacted or part of the development of the lobby expansion. That project was executed with minimal impact to the customer. Everyone working together and finding the path to get us from start to finish as it evolved was really a testament to this department and the people who work here. It was not just one group; it was everyone involved.”

After he leaves for Raleigh, Christine said he hopes CLT will continue to grow and evolve. The opening of the Fourth Parallel Runway, Concourse C expansion and creation of tunnels leading to the Atrium are some projects on the horizon for CLT’s future.

“I have been blessed to have been a part of this organization for nearly 30 years, and I’ve had a wonderful time and amazing opportunities. There were challenging times and hard times in there too but at the end of the day, I wouldn’t change a thing,” Christine said. “I’ve been blessed to be here, and it’s been an honor to serve this Airport, this community and this department for as long as I have. I will always cherish it, and I will miss it.”