John Holland-Kaye is to leave his post as chief executive of London’s Heathrow Airport after nine years in the job.
In a statement, Heathrow Airport’s management said: “The Board would like to thank John for his exceptional leadership since 2014, building a strong management team, developing a consumer-focused culture, improving cost efficiency and putting Heathrow at the forefront of global aviation’s decarbonisation. The transformation of the airport during John’s time as CEO has been recognised as Heathrow won a number of significant awards including: Sunday Times top 30 employer; one of the top 10 airports in the world (voted by passengers); and edie’s Sustainable Business of the Year Award.
The board added that three of the most significant successes of Mr Holland-Kaye’s tenure were the development of the plan for Heathrow expansion that secured overwhelming Parliamentary approval, successfully navigating the business through the COVID-19 crisis and the recovery in demand, and his leadership in putting aviation firmly on course for net zero by 2050.
However, Heathrow incurred heavy losses during the pandemic and lost its title of Europe’s busiest airport during the recent recovery, as well as coming under fire from airlines for imposing a hefty daily passenger number cap.
The Chair of Heathrow Airport, Lord Deighton said:
“John has been an extraordinary leader of Heathrow. During the past nine years, he has worked tirelessly and collaboratively with shareholders, Ministers, airlines and other stakeholders to ensure the country can be proud of its ‘front door’. The Board would like to put on record our gratitude to John for his dedication and commitment to Heathrow throughout his tenure as CEO.”
The Board has now initiated a selection process for Mr Holland-Kaye’s replacement. In order to ensure a smooth handover, he will remain as CEO until his successor starts in post.
