"North Carolina official to become Baghdad airport director"

Thursday, June 19, 2003

North Carolina official to become Baghdad airport director
The Associated Press


MORRISVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA - The deputy director at Raleigh-Durham
International Airport is retiring from that post and plans to start work
next month as the head manager at Baghdad International Airport.

R.C. Shackelford, 56, has been at RDU for 16 years. He was hired for the
Baghdad job by Serco, the private British company contracted by the United
States to oversee five Iraqi airports.

``This is the opportunity of a lifetime, and you need to seize it,''
Shackelford said.

His job will be to restart commercial and cargo operations at the
battle-scarred airstrip.

The Federal Aviation Administration has given three airlines approval to
begin scheduled flights between the United States and Iraq, but service is
probably a few months away.

Baghdad International, formerly Saddam International Airport, still lacks a
secure, reliable supply of power and water, and sewer service, and the
runways still are pocked with bomb craters.

Shackelford came to RDU from the Wilmington, North Carolina, airport in 1987
as part of a huge expansion when American Airlines opened a hub at RDU. He
has overseen the responses to aircraft crises, including two deadly
commercial airplane crashes, handled airfield and terminal operations and
maintenance, supervised the police department and made sure the shuttle
buses ran on time.

Shackelford said he has always wanted to work abroad but has never traveled
to the Middle East.

He said he expects to spend about a year to 18 months at the Baghdad
airport, restarting commercial service and training an Iraqi staff to take
over.

His wife, who is recovering from breast cancer, will stay behind. Last year,
he shaved his head to support her during chemotherapy; his hair is still
growing back.


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