Reports are circulating that Atif Elkadi, the chief executive office at Ontario International Airport since 2022, will be leaving that post no later than March.
There are a multitude of indicators that Elkadi, who began at Ontario International in November 2017 as the facility’s deputy chief executive officer and stepped into the top spot at the airport four years and four months later, is on his way out as the top administrator at the airport or has already departed.
Though the airport’s official website yet identifies Elkadi as the chief executive officer with the airport and the Ontario International Airport Authority, early this week word emanating from the headquarters airport headquarters located at 1923 East Avion Avenue in Ontario was that he was on the brink of departing as chief executive officer, and that his leaving is to be finalized no later than March. There were further unverified indications that he had already left.
On Wednesday, the Sentinel made extensive efforts to contact Elkadi at the airport headquarters. It did not appear that he was present.
The Sentinel made multiple phone calls to what was formerly Elkadi’s direct phone line at the airport, the office phone for the airport administration and the airport authority office, all of which were routed to automated service desks or answering services for offices which were unrelated to the airport administration or individuals who may or may not be directly involved with the airport. The Sentinel was unable to get through to either Elkadi or his secretary. Elkadi’s unavailability has has fueled speculation that his official departure has taken place or is imminent.
Elkadi has begun applying for management positions with other airports. One of these was San Diego International Airport, where Kimberly Becker is due to leave as the chief executive two months on march 18. Further information available to the Sentinel is that Elkadi was among six individuals with extensive airport administrative experience who applied for the top executive officer’s post at San Diego International Airport and was ranked sixth on the evaluation list of those competing for the job. The ultimate decision on which candidate is to be hired is to be determined on pending further interviews by members of the San Diego International Airport Authority Board of Directors of candidates deemed suitable and salary negotiations, the Sentinel was told. The board of directors has opted to limit those follow-up interviews and salary discussions to the top three-ranked applicants, meaning Elkadi is no longer in the running for the job.
In Ontario, there have been varying accounts as to whether Elkadi has acted openly or surreptitiously in attempting to make the jump from Ontario International to wherever it is he is to land next.
One version, which in much of its aspect is virtually indistinguishable from promotional materials put out by the airport,is that he is doing so with the full knowledge of the five members of the Ontario International Airport Authority Board – Board President Alan Wapner, who is also a member of the Ontario City Council; Wapner’s council colleague, Ontario City Councilman Jim Bowman; San Bernardino County Fourth District Supervisor Curt Hagman; Ron Loveridge, who was formerly mayor of Riverside; and Judith Gouw, the former president and chief operating officer of East West Bank.
By this version of events, Mr. Elkadi is truly a top-drawer airport manager who can essentially write his own ticket, such that he is long past due to move upwards. It is assumed by some of those working with him that after he moves on to a larger airport on the order of San Diego International Airport, San Francisco International Airport or Detroit Metropolitan Airport, it is a virtual inevitability that he will close out his career overseeing one or the other among the world’s largest and most heavily-utilized airports, such as King Fahd International in Saudi Arabia, Dulles International in Washington, D.C., Suvarnabhumi International in Thailand, Denver International, Dubai International, Heathrow in London or New Delhi International in India. According to at least some of those affiliated with him at Ontario International, everyone in Ontario recognizes what an extraordinary talent Elkadi is, and the members of the airport authority board recognize that having Mr. Elkadi as the airport’s chief executive for nearly four years has been most fortuitous, and it is only natural that he is now progressing toward a more prestigious assignment. Wapner, they say, understands that Ontario International cannot possibly hope to keep Elkaldi much longer.
By contrast, there are reports that Elkadi has been attempting to keep his intention to leave under wraps, such that the board was to not find out about his departure until he has secured another post comparable to Ontario International chief executive officer. Accordingly, several individuals in the know say that Airport Board President Wapner’s attitude with regard to Elkadi’s move is anything but positive. Those long familiar with the political relations among Ontario’s officeholders and the halls of governance say there is no way Elkadi would openly seek employment elsewhere because if he did, Wapner would perceive any such move as a demonstration of disloyalty and would terminate Mr. Elkadi on the spot. Thus, what is circulating is that Elkadi is at present desperately seeking another airport management post, hoping to find one comparable to that of Ontario International chief executive officer but that he is psychologically prepared to accept a lesser role with a major airport virtually anywhere in the world.