Rebecca Hupp

Born in the small town of Berkley, Massachusetts, which only had a population around 2,300 at the time ― Rebecca Hupp knew at an early age that she wanted to have a life in travel.

When she was 10 years old, her family took a vacation, flying from Boston to Montreal. It was her first time on a plane, launching the idea that would eventually soar into a lifelong career.

“It’s a gift to know early one what you want to do,” Hupp said. “I wasn’t really sure. I thought, ‘I like travel,’ and being a pilot seemed like a good way to achieve that. Then, when I started actually experiencing what that look like as a career, I recognized quickly that it was not for me.”

Day-to-day operations, interacting with the community, running a large team and all the other aspects of airport operations were far more attractive to Hupp than the singular focus of being a pilot.

After graduating college in Florida, Hupp returned to Massachusetts for a brief time to take on an internship at Boston Logan International Airport. It was there, working in the opera-tions department, where she discovered how “exciting” airports are and what goes on be-hind the scenes.

Besides being on the airfield the day the president’s C5 aircraft loaded with the motorcade landed for an official visit, Hupp experienced something else during her time at the major hub.

“The other thing that I learned during that time is just how interconnected the airport indus-try is,” she said. “I was looking for my first paid position in the industry, and there was a po-sition that was available in Missouri, in Kansas City, and there was a lot of competition for that role. The person that I was working for knew the person who was going to be doing the hiring in Kansas City.”

Her boss at Logan said he would write her a letter of recommendation and she realized how connected the industry was. Though she admits at the time, she didn’t fully realize the how vast that connection was. Over the years, she has come to understand the importance of building a network and making connections within the air travel industry.

From landing her first paid role as a management trainee in Kansas City, Hupp’s journey began the next leg. She was promoted a few times at that agency, gaining experience in sev-eral areas. However, she knew she wouldn’t be able to manage a team there, so she de-parted for another destination, this time at a smaller airport with bigger duties.

She was hired to run the Aberdeen Regional Airport in South Dakota.

“It was my opportunity to run my first airport … and I had a small team of about 10 people where I supervised and ran the entire airport,” she said. “It was my first opportunity to tran-sition from being the subject matter expert to being the leader.”

After Aberdeen, Hupp took flight once more to Bangor International Airport in Maine, the eastern-most airport in the United States. In her 12 years there, she gained experience managing a team of about 100, learning about operating the fuel farm “which is unique for airports,” and learning how to navigate diversions for emergency landings.

It was after that 12 years in Maine that Hupp made a pivotal decision to take on the lead role as director at Boise Airport, touching down in 2012.

In that 14 years, Hupp and her team have seen the amount of passengers coming through the main Gem State airport and the amount of routes offered double.

“The challenge is making sure that you are keeping pace with growth, but that you’re not over-building and recognizing that airlines are planning on a six-month to a one-year plan-ning horizon,” she said. “But for us to build infrastructure takes about three to five years, and so you have to be proactive and be ready, because you don’t ever want to be an imped-iment to growth and more service. But you don’t want to build facilities that are not neces-sary. So, it’s striking that balance.”

It’s fair to say that Hupp has indeed struck that balance and then some. Her leadership was described as one of strength and clear vision by Boise Mayor Lauren McLean.

“Rebecca has had an incredible tenure at the Boise Airport,” McLean said. “She has brought in new nonstop routes, major infrastructure projects and enhancements to park-ing, security and airfield operations. Since Rebecca started, we have seen terminal updates and expansion projects, and numerous commercial hangar projects to serve Boise-based corporations that make it easier to do business in our valley. She has also overseen the in-troduction of all new concessions, insisting on a strong local focus that introduce Boise’s favorite restaurants, coffee shops and small retailers to every traveler.”

McLean also pointed to a new state-of-the-art car rental center adjacent to the main termi-nal that has been under construction and will see completion later this year that has hap-pened under Hupp. There will also be a major expansion with the construction of Con-course A that will bring 10 more gates to Boise Airport, she said.

Hupp’s experience and smart planning is also reflected in how the airport has grown, set-ting a record for four straight years in traveler increases, reaching 5 million in 2025. That milestone is being celebrated along with the hub’s 100 years of operation anniversary on April 6, 2026.

“Our airport’s growth is a reflection of the strength of this community and the region it serves,” McLean said. “As we enter the next century of flight in our community, Rebecca has her eye on what’s ahead.”

And though Hupp does hope to retire someday to spend more time with her husband and being active, she’s more focused right now on strengthening the culture of the airport and shaping what the operation will look like for the next 50 years.

Will she be satisfied with what she’s accomplished?

“Oh, there’s always more to do,” she said. “There’s always more to do.”