Heathrow airport chief executive quits

The chief executive of London's Heathrow will stand down from the job later this year, the airport announced Tuesday. No immediate reason was given for the departure of Colin Matthews from the post, which he has held since April 2008. Matthews said he would be leaving after the unveiling of the new Terminal 2, which is set to open to passengers in June. "It has been a privilege to serve as CEO of Heathrow for the last six years," Matthews said in a statement on Heathrow's website. "The opening of Terminal 2: The Queen's Terminal in June this year is a further important step in the transformation of Heathrow and long term prospects are bright following the decision of the Airports Commission to shortlist our proposal for a new runway. "So once Terminal 2 has opened later this year, I have decided the time is right to pass on the baton." Heathrow chairman Nigel Rudd praised Matthews for his work in the role and said no successor had yet been named. "Heathrow has commenced a search for a successor for Colin Matthews with the aim of having a new Chief Executive in place later this year and after Terminal 2: The Queen's Terminal has opened," Rudd said. "Colin has done a fantastic job of improving Heathrow for passengers and will remain as Chief Executive until his successor is in place to ensure a smooth transition." Heathrow has been at the centre of a debate over Britain's chronic shortage of air capacity. In December, the west London airport's proposal for a third runway was one of three suggestions shortlisted by Sir Howard Davies' Airports Commission on the future of Britain as an international aviation hub. Despite being one of the world's busiest airports, Heathrow has only two runways and is running close to capacity. The airport credited Matthews with improving satisfaction levels of passengers going through Heathrow, increasing those rating the experience "as good or excellent" from less than 50 percent to more than 75 percent.