Heathrow chief leaves airport operator following T5 turmoil

Heathrow managing director Mark Bullock has been ousted following the debacle surrounding the opening of Terminal 5. He is leaving in the wake of a management restructuring instigated last month by Heathrow owner BAA’s new chief executive, Colin Matthews.

Bullock will be replaced by Mike Brown, London Underground chief operating officer, who joins BAA in September. Matthews is also merging BAA’s corporate team with its Heathrow board to give him more hands-on control of the airport.

BAA is still seeking a managing director to run its other six airports, including Gatwick and Stansted. Bullock joined BAA in 2004 and was promoted to managing director in late 2006. British Airways operations director Gareth Kirkwood and customer services director David Noyes have also quit following the botched opening of T5, when more than 500 flights were cancelled and 23,000 bags were lost.

Former Severn Trent chief executive Matthews was appointed in February this year, after Stephen Nelson quit amid growing concerns that the airports operator faced severe debt problems.