Apone steps down as director at Myrtle Beach airport

Pat Apone, director of Myrtle Beach International Airport, announced Thursday she will resign to take a new job with the Louisville Regional Airport Authority.

Apone will be temporarily replaced by Scott VanMoppes, the assistant airport director. Horry County officials will recruit to fill the job permanently.

“Though I understand what a great opportunity this is for Pat professionally, I hate to see her leave,” said Chris Eldridge, county administrator.

“A lot was accomplished during Pat’s tenure with the Horry County Department of Airports; from the completion of the new terminal to resurfacing the airport’s lone runway,” Eldridge said.

Apone has overseen significant growth at the airport as airlines continued to add flights from new destinations. The most recent traffic report shows that more than 207,000 passengers passed through the airport last month, an increase of 3.3 percent over May 2015.

The total traffic count in May, which includes passengers arriving and leaving, totaled 207,896 compared to 201,331 in 2015.

Apone has worked for the county since 1997 when she was an employee in the finance department. She was appointed assistant airport director in 2011, and was promoted to director in 2014.

This story was originally published June 23, 2016 at 12:45 PM with the headline "Apone steps down as director at Myrtle Beach airport."