McCurdy Sydney Airport’s Courtney Davis Named to WINGS Magazine’s Top 20
Under 40 in Canadian Aviation
For Immediate Release: June 12, 2026
SYDNEY, NS — McCurdy Sydney Airport is proud to announce that Courtney Davis, Director of Business Development, has been named to WINGS Magazine’s Top 20 Under 40 in Canadian Aviation. One of the industry’s most coveted honours, the recognition celebrates the brightest emerging leaders driving the future of flight across the country. Davis is among a select group of professionals chosen for their vision, measurable impact, and commitment to advancing Canadian aviation.
“Courtney represents the very best of what emerging leadership looks like in this industry,” says Myles Tuttle, CEO, McCurdy Sydney Airport. “She came in with a vision for what this airport could be, and she has delivered on it in ways that have changed the economic and social fabric of this region. We could not be more proud of this recognition.”
Since joining the Sydney Airport Authority in 2017, Davis has become one of Atlantic Canada’s most consequential figures in regional aviation development. Armed with an MBA and a degree in Criminology, she brought an uncommon combination of analytical rigour and community instinct to a role she has since transformed.
Her most celebrated achievement came in the critical years following the pandemic, when Davis led a ground-up effort to restore and expand air service to Cape Breton Island. The results speak for themselves: new airline partnerships established, and for the first time in the airport’s history, direct scheduled service connecting Cape Breton to Western Canada through WestJet.
Davis owned every stage of that process, from initial market analysis and business case development through stakeholder coordination, operational launch, and post-implementation evaluation. The initiative delivered a measured economic impact of $15.5 million to the region.
That achievement alone would be notable, but Davis’s influence extends well beyond this restoration. She created and led Sydney’s Fly Local campaign, a data-informed community initiative that has shifted traveller behaviour, grown passenger volumes, and built a compelling public case for continued air service investment. She also led the development of a renewed airport brand anchored in Cape Breton’s place in Canadian aviation history.
Equally remarkable is what Davis has built beyond the terminal. She has led McCurdy Sydney Airport’s involvement in programs including Autism Aviators and a meaningful partnership with Atlantic Burn Camp, and has championed large-scale community events that bring thousands of Cape Bretoners face-to-face with aviation. As executive sponsor of Airport Workers Day, she has become a champion for the more than 120 personnel who make this airport run every day, fostering a culture of belonging, shared purpose, and professional pride that is felt across the organization.
“Courtney has built something here that people are paying attention to well beyond Atlantic Canada. She has proven that a regional airport, with the right leadership, can generate outsized impact for its community and earn a seat at the table with anyone in this industry. This honour is a reflection of exactly that,” says Tuttle.
Courtney Davis’s full profile is featured in WINGS Magazine summer edition, and can be viewed
at: https://www.wingsmagazine.com/digital-edition/.
For more information, please contact:
Myles Tuttle
CEO, McCurdy Sydney Airport
myles.tuttle@sydneyairport.ca
902-574-7907
