Ricky Smith’s arrival at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is a win for common-sense leadership and American industry. Mayor Andre Dickens officially named Smith the airport’s general manager, a transition that took effect on April 2, 2025, placing a proven operator in charge of the nation’s busiest aviation hub. This isn’t a political appointment so much as a practical choice for steady hands in a complicated, high-stakes business.
Smith’s story is the kind of upward mobility conservatives celebrate: a son of Baltimore who worked his way into the highest ranks of airport management through decades of experience and results. He spent more than 30 years in aviation, most recently as executive director and CEO of the Maryland Aviation Administration, where he restored BWI’s growth and put customer service first — the sort of track record that matters when millions of travelers and hundreds of thousands of jobs are on the line. Americans who value meritocracy should applaud an appointment rooted in competence, not identity politics.
Let’s not pretend Hartsfield-Jackson is merely a local facility; it is an engine of commerce that pours tens of billions of dollars into Georgia and the Southeast every year. Different studies put ATL’s annual economic impact in the many tens of billions — figures commonly cited in the $66 billion range and higher — and the airport supports hundreds of thousands of jobs across the region. In a time when Washington wants to micromanage every corner of the economy, it’s worth remembering that places like ATL create prosperity because private enterprise, supply chains, and local leadership are allowed to do what they do best.
Smith’s recent conversation with Forbes on The Enterprise Zone underscores what conservatives already know: airports are businesses, not social laboratories. In that interview he explained the commercial backbone behind ATL’s operations and stressed the practical work of moving people and freight efficiently — the very priorities that keep ticket prices low, cargo moving, and local businesses thriving. It’s refreshing to hear a leader talk about capital projects, operational efficiency, and job creation instead of reciting an administration’s talking points.
Atlanta’s airport faces real choices in the years ahead — from expanding cargo capacity to finishing long-term capital plans — and those decisions require a manager who understands budgets and results, not buzzwords. Smith’s track record at BWI shows he can shepherd big infrastructure programs and create opportunities for small businesses through pragmatic concessions initiatives; that mix of fiscal discipline and opportunity-focused leadership is exactly what ATL needs. The city should back policies that let this airport invest in runways, terminals, and workforce development rather than redirecting dollars to unaccountable experiments.
Patriotic Americans should watch this transition closely and demand that leaders prioritize jobs, safety, and the free enterprise that built this country. When cities put capable, experienced people in charge — people who grew up in tough neighborhoods and learned to lead by producing results — they get airports that lift entire regions instead of pet projects that lift only a few. Support for Smith isn’t about party labels; it’s about defending common-sense stewardship of a national asset that fuels commerce, freedom of movement, and American prosperity.
