John Holland-Kaye will stand down as Heathrow’s CEO during 2023.

John Holland-Kaye, CEO of Heathrow Airport, will be standing down from his post in 2023, after nine years in the role.

“John has been an extraordinary leader of Heathrow,” said Lord Deighton, Chair of Heathrow Airport.

“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 Heathrow Airport Board has initiated a selection process for Holland-Kaye’s replacement.

He will remain as CEO until his successor starts in post, to ensure a smooth handover.

In the statement released by Heathrow Airport today, the Board expressed their thanks to Holland-Kaye for his ‘exceptional leadership since 2014’, referencing the impact he had made in ‘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 hub also highlighted some of the key successes under his tenure, including the development of the plan for Heathrow expansion (which secured Parliamentary approval); ‘successfully navigating the business through the covid-19 crisis’ and the subsequent recovery in demand; and ‘his leadership in putting aviation firmly on course for net zero by 2050’.