A senior management shake-up at British Airways (BA) has been confirmed as it tackles issues ranging from IT failures to staff shortages and flight cancellations.

Four new roles in the leadership team have been created as the airline navigates what it calls an “extremely challenging” period. New senior management have taken responsibility for customer services, operations and IT, the airline says.

It is understood that Chief Information and Digital Officer Anthony Allcock is to be replaced by external hire Dirk John, formerly with Latam Airlines and Lufthansa.

Calum Laming, previously at Spanish budget carrier Vueling, part of BA owner International Airlines Group, is brought in as Chief Customer Officer, replacing Tom Stevens, according to newspaper reports.

The role of Chief Operating Officer is being split, with incumbent Jason Mahoney becoming Chief Technical Officer while a new external hire will take over day-to-day operations.

A BA spokesperson said: “We’re navigating an extremely challenging period, as we rebuild following the global pandemic, and therefore we’ve created four new roles on our leadership team.  Everyone at British Airways is completely focused on three priorities: our customers, supporting the biggest recruitment drive in our history and increasing our operational resilience to deliver the best possible experience for our customers”.

Announcing a first quarter pre-tax loss of €916m, IAG said that BA was focusing on “improving operations and customer experience, including moderating planned capacity at Heathrow,” following the lifting of travel restrictions and the steep ramp up in capacity.

www.ba.com