Former Sea-Tac International Airport director Gina Mae Lindsey has landed in Los Angeles.

Los Angles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has named Lindsey executive director of Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA).

If confirmed by the city council, Lindsey will oversee Los Angles International Airport as well as airports in Van Nuys, Ontario and Palmdale.

Lindsey left Sea-Tac Airport in August 2004 near the end of a decade-long fight with neighboring cities over construction of the third runway.

Mark Reis was promoted from assistant director to take her place.

After she resigned, the state Supreme Court rejected the cities' appeal of a water quality permit issued by the state Department of Ecology.

Federal Judge Barbara Rothstein also turned down a request by the cities to reconsider her decision to uphold the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers' wetlands permit.

The third runway, now under construction, is scheduled to open late next year.

Lindsey won't escape lawsuits and other controversies in Southern California.

Her new agency is being sued by several airlines over increased terminal fees they claim violate previous lease agreements.

At the same time, agency officials are seeking the airlines' assistance in upgrading airport terminals.

The Los Angeles Times quoted local leaders as saying Lindsey can soothe the carriers.

"I think she was an excellent choice and will bring an experience to LAWA that we need," Gary Toebben, L.A. Area Chamber of Commerce president and chief executive told the local paper.

"Airline representatives who know her feel very comfortable with her ability to negotiate leases and work with the airlines."

According to Greg Principato, president of Airports Council International-North America, Lindsey is "certainly seen in the industry as someone who is both a thinker and a doer-a rare combination."

The Associated Press reported that the mayor thinks Lindsey is "the perfect candidate.

"In searching for a new executive director, we knew we needed someone with experience, with an ability to build bridges and with a vision for moving the area's airports forward," Villaraigosa noted.

When she left Sea-Tac, Lindsey told the Times/News that her proudest accomplishment was completing half of the airport's expansion projects including a new main terminal, concourse A and arrivals hall.

The Port of Seattle Commissioners voted to name the arrivals hall for Lindsey. The Port operates the airport.

But Lindsey said her greatest accomplishment was "getting in place a highly motivated, competent staff that can deal with the surprises that come up in air travel."

Before coming to Sea-Tac in 1993, Lindsey was manager of Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport, where she was credited with turning the Alaska facility from a refueling stop into a major cargo hub.