Willie Walsh has commented in the press that he first found out British Airways headquarters in Waterside were earmarked for demolition following the expansion of Heathrow Airport with a third runway, when the Airport Commission report was issued.
“The first I saw of it was when the Airport Commission report came out and I saw a map and I thought, that looks very close to Waterside,” he told a UK newspaper. “Then I discovered it actually went right through Waterside.”
Walsh also lamented the fact that compensation for the loss of the site would not cover the increased costs the airline will pay for the upgraded airport.
“That compensation goes into the regulatory asset base and we end up paying 56 per cent of that. We can’t have a situation where I end up paying for the destruction of my own head office," Walsh said.