Former Heathrow boss John Holland-Kaye nets record £6.4m pay

Heathrow airport paid a record £6.4m to its former chief executive John Holland-Kaye, it has been revealed.

The businessman’s bumper payout included an annual bonus of more than £1.2m and came despite flights from the hub being delayed by an average of 20 minutes last year.

Holland-Kaye was replaced in October by Copenhagen Airport’s Thomas Woldbye after a near-decade long tenure at the UK’s busiest hub. His pay package, revealed in Heathrow’s annual report, included a £2.7m “termination payment” for nine months work.

The report revealed Woldbye has already received just over £1m since taking the top job.

Holland-Kaye had a mixed track record during his time at Heathrow. He oversaw a chequered recovery from Covid-19, with the airport only turning a first post-pandemic operating profit last year.

He also drew criticism for stoking the flames of a dispute with airlines over landing charge levels, which was finally settled in March by the Civil Aviation Authority.

Heathrow were approached for comment. In a statement to The Sunday Times, the airport argued the “termination payment” was awarded for Holland-Kaye’s long service to the airport.

“Remuneration packages for senior leaders are board approved. Last year saw another huge leap in passenger numbers, reaching close to pre-pandemic levels after historic lows just two years earlier.”

Some 79m passengers passed through Heathrow last year, an increase of 29 per cent as travel demanded dramatically rebounded.

Adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) increased by just under a third, to £2.2bn.

“Meeting this unprecedented increase in demand took strong leadership of dedicated teams across all aspects of the airport’s operations,” the spokesperson added.

Woldbye and Holland-Kaye’s bumper pay packets come as the annual meeting season in the City kicks off.

A number of votes are expected on executive pay, including at the London Stock Exchange Group and the shipbroker Clarksons, whose chief executive Andi Case received £11.9m last year.