Airport leadership change set to take flight

While the Springfield-Branson National Airport has dozens of planes departing daily, the exit this month of its longtime leader will mark only the third such transition for the facility in over 50 years.  

Brian Weiler, 60, is retiring June 24 from the airport he’s led as aviation director since 2011. David Schaumburg, who has worked for the organization as assistant director of aviation overseeing operations and maintenance since 2017, was recently announced as Weiler’s successor. 

Schaumburg will be just the fourth person to serve as aviation director since 1972, Weiler said. Weiler succeeded Gary Cyr in August 2011, and Rob Hancik ran the airport for 32 years prior to Cyr, according to Springfield Business Journal archives. 

“We’ve had incredible longevity with leaders – almost 55 years of leadership in just three people,” Weiler said. “To me, that kind of stability gives you a lot of advantages. I have no doubt though, I still think the best days of this airport are ahead, and I could not be more thrilled seeing the reins turned over to Dave Schaumburg.” 

Although the airport is owned by the city of Springfield, it is overseen by an 11-member Airport Board. Weiler said board members directed him to focus on succession planning for years.  

“I think the board owed it to the community to go out and do a nationwide search, and I supported that and helped them go through the process with human resources,” he said. “So, we advertised nationally. Now, I was not involved in the selection process or the narrowing down, nor should I have been involved in that.” 

There were 45 applicants following the national search, with Schaumburg selected among three finalists, according to city officials. Weiler said there was an initial round of virtual interviews after which Schaumburg was identified by the board as the best candidate, leading to the promotion.  

When he first came on board at the airport in 2017, Schaumburg said Weiler was already in a mindset of leaving within five years or so. 

“We were fortunate to keep him for five beyond that,” Schaumburg said, noting he also considers Weiler a mentor. “I think that speaks to what a great community this is, what a great organization the airport is, the support that the airport has from our board, from our region and the users.” 

Setting vision 
Schaumburg said Weiler had done a fantastic job of setting a vision for the airport and making sure it and the 125-person staff he leads have a great connection to the community.  

“He’s just been a steady voice and a consummate professional,” Schaumburg said, noting he and Weiler have been in lockstep with airport operations over the last near decade. “I’ll miss having him around, but I can still consider him a friend, and I’m not taking his number out of my phone.”  

Weiler’s departure comes as the airport reached over 1.5 million passengers in 2025, setting the third straight record year, according to past SBJ reporting. During his tenure, the airport has more than doubled airline passengers as well as direct routes, which he said has reached 15. The average number of flights departing are around 35 per day, he said, noting SGF connects daily to six major hubs.  

“The community has generally very much supported this airport, and that has given us a strong basis to make good cases to the airlines to expand service,” he said, adding the airport has a goal to add daily service to Phoenix and Miami by 2027.  

Over the past 15 years, the airport has completed more than $100 million in improvement projects. Weiler said the roughly $11 million, 60,000-square-foot American Airlines maintenance base completed in 2021 is one he is most proud of. So is the $6.7 million general aviation terminal expanded in 2024. 

“Since we’ve done that now and it’s been almost five years, I think it’s proven that that was a very successful project,” Weiler said of the maintenance hangar. “American has put 30% more seats in our market. Now I’m not saying directly because of that, but I have to think it was a reason.” 

The airport-owned general aviation terminal remodel and expansion at 5000 W. Kearney St. included updated restrooms, expansion of the administration area and pilot lounge, as well as the addition of a public community room, according to past reporting. The GA terminal is roughly 4 miles from the Roy Blunt Terminal, which is used by commercial passengers. 

“We didn’t get any grant money for that. That was all airport money that we directed towards that, but we still think that was a really good investment,” he said. “The type of clients and industries and business and private individuals, they’re going to bring their corporate aircraft or their private aircraft here. They’re going to want to know that they’re bringing it to a quality facility.” 

Hangar occupancy has been at 100% for years, Weiler said, adding there’s probably 50 individuals or companies on a waiting list. Plans call for building around 25 more T-hangars to the north side of the general aviation terminal, Schaumburg said, adding the project is out for bids. 

As for an ongoing project, Schaumburg said he hoped Weiler would have been able to cut the ribbon to celebrate the flooring replacement project before his exit. However, the roughly $4.4 million, 92,000-square-foot initiative won’t be complete by then. The project, which calls for the removal of carpet and the addition of terrazzo, a hard surface made with liquid resin, chips of glass and stone, should be done by August or September, according to airport officials.   

“I’m going to be ambiguous about that date because there’s just so many variables to it,” Schaumburg said. 

But Weiler was able to be present for a couple of projects that recently wrapped. One was its terminal apron expansion project that saw nearly $10 million of concrete poured. Additionally, five aging jet bridges from the late 1990s were replaced in fall 2025 through a $7.6 million project that included a $5.3 million grant from the Federal Aviation Administration. 

 Love of aviation 
Weiler’s career in aviation has spanned most of his life. He enlisted in the United States Marine Corps at 18 years old, noting his job with them was as an air traffic controller.  

“The first time on an airplane was on my way to boot camp,” he said. “Starting being around the aviation environment, I fell in love with it.” 

Weiler came to SGF’s director of aviation role from the Missouri Department of Transportation, where he served as multimodal director and was responsible for the state government’s involvement in aviation, rail, waterways, transit and freight development. He previously worked as MoDOT’s administrator of aviation from 1997-2002.  

A Jefferson City native and licensed pilot, Weiler’s early civilian career included management of small city and county airports in the St. Joseph, Kansas City and southeast Florida areas. Weiler said he and his wife, Melanie, used to move around a lot for his career. They have four children born in four different cities in three states. The couple is living in their eighth house.  

“It is not always easy, and I credit her a lot, following me around and always being very supportive,” he said, noting they both fell in love with Springfield upon moving here.  

Still, Weiler said he never intended 15 years ago to be here as long as he has. 

“This is my fifth airport. In this career field, if you want to move up, you got to move around,” he said.  

“I’ve had the opportunity to move on, but I think the sweet spot of airport management is this size of an airport because it’s big enough that you got all parts of an airport,” he said, noting the airport has large airline service, an active general aviation community, corporate flight departments and a nearby Missouri Aviation Classification Repair Depot. “You’ve got all the basics there.”  

Next chapter 
Sitting in his office for a June 15 interview, Weiler said he has one of the best views in Springfield. Shortly thereafter, a Delta Airlines plane taxied into Gate 1, within clear view outside his window.  

“If I was just going to occupy that chair, I’d have left years ago,” he said, motioning toward his desk. “But here, there’s always something going on. There’s always things that you can be working towards. We are growing, we’re being supported. I’m grateful and excited that I got to have the best job I could have had the last 15 years, but it is also time to recognize that I’m kind of ready for the next chapter in life.” 

Weiler isn’t sure if his days in aviation are over, as he’s considering consulting work. But he said plans are to take a couple of months off and travel with his wife of 37 years, who works part time with Mercy Springfield Communities as a medical technologist. The couple also recently became grandparents, noting a lot of his family, including their new granddaughter, live in Kansas City. A move may be in the offing, he said.  

“We’re looking at that right now, but I would not be surprised if we leave,” Weiler said. 

Weiler said his departure comes with mixed emotions. But he also remembers something that longtime mentor and friend Jim Anderson, former Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce president, told him years ago when he worked at MoDOT. Anderson was serving on the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission at the time.  

“One of the things he told me that stuck in my mind is sometimes the best time to leave is when things are good, things are going well,” he said. “Don’t wait for something bad. 

“My goal was to turn the airport over to the next person in a better position than I got it,” Weiler said, adding he believes he’s been successful. “I felt like I was the caretaker for the time and I was entrusted with it.”