Spanish-owned BAA, which operates Heathrow Airport, Gatwick Airport and a number of other UK airports, has announced the resignation of Mark Bullock. Mr Bullock was the Heathrow Airport boss who oversaw the opening of the disastrous Terminal 5 earlier this year.
When the £4.3 billion Terminal 5 was opened in March, it hit headline for all the wrong reasons. The Terminal suffered crippling problems with its baggage system, which meant that tens of thousands of bags were lost and countless flights were cancelled. BAA executive chairman Sir Nigel Rudd confessed that that he was "bitterly disappointed" with the problems at the new Terminal. He said: "It was clearly a huge embarrassment to the company, me personally and the board."
MPs demanded an inquiry into the Terminal 5 opening, which they said had "made a fool out of the country." In a hearing into the opening of the Terminal, the Transport Select Committee were told that Mr Matthews "was unaware" the terminal wasn't ready when it first opened. It was said that he had not known that baggage systems had not been sufficiently tested or that the lifts were out of order.
Despite many cynics believing he left as a direct result of the Terminal 5 fiasco, Mr Bullock said that he had decided to leave his role because of recent management changes within BAA that would change his existing role as managing director. He said: "Leading the team at Heathrow is an intense and demanding role but one I have enjoyed very much. The managing director role at the airport will change substantially under the new structure being introduced by Colin Matthews and, while I understand and support those important changes and the renewed focus on day-to-day operations, the time is clearly right for me to move on and take on new challenges."
Colin Matthews, chief executive at BAA, praised Bullock's time at Heathrow and said that he had led the Airport through a "challenging period." He said: "Mark Bullock has made a significant contribution to BAA and to Heathrow in particular and has led the airport through a particularly challenging period. I am grateful for his efforts."
It has been announced that Mike Brown, who is currently chief operating officer at London Underground, will replace Mr Bullock as managing director. Mr Matthews stated that he was "looking forward" to working with Mr Brown following his appointment. He said: "I now look forward to working with Mike Brown as we continue driving passenger service standards across the airport and focus on the important work to transform the facilities we provide for passengers and airlines."
Mr Bullock is not the only top executive to leave his job following the Terminal 5 scandal. Just last month, British Airways, who are the sole occupants of the new terminal, said that operations director Gareth Kirkwood and customer service director David Noyes would be leaving the company due to the problems experienced at the Terminal.
![[Valid RSS feed]](http://www.afreearticle.com/images/icon_Rss.png "XML Feed For RSS"){kind=icon}
Category Rss Feed
Print This Article
Add To Favorites