Operations Manager - Above Wing

Operations Manager – Above Wing

Reports to: Head of Operations

Location: London Heathrow Airport

Organisation: Heathrow Airline Operators Committee (AOC) Limited

Salary: £68,000–£72,000

Working pattern: Primarily Heathrow-based, Monday–Friday, with out-of-hours operational support required. Some flexibility for hybrid working.

About the role

Heathrow Airline Operators Committee (AOC) Limited is seeking an experienced Operations Manager – Above Wing to act as the airline community’s lead operational representative for passenger-facing and terminal operations at Heathrow.

This is a senior operational and stakeholder-facing role, representing the collective interests of AOC member airlines across matters affecting passenger operations, service performance, resilience, customer experience and operational change.

The successful candidate will work closely with AOC member airlines, Heathrow Airport Limited, government agencies, regulators, service providers and the wider airport community. You will provide a credible, evidence-based airline voice, ensuring that decisions affecting above-wing operations properly consider airline and passenger impacts.

You will be expected to build strong relationships, influence without direct authority and constructively challenge proposals or performance where necessary. The role is focused on achieving practical solutions through collaboration, while escalating material concerns where appropriate.

Key responsibilities

Above-wing operational leadership

• Act as the principal AOC point of contact for member airlines on above-wing operational matters.
• Lead AOC engagement across passenger-facing and terminal activities, including check-in, departures, security, immigration, connections, passenger flow, PRM/passenger assistance, disruption handling, automation/IT and common-use systems.
• Maintain a strong understanding of operational performance, risks and airline concerns across Heathrow terminals.
• Represent airline interests in operational decisions, improvement plans and change programmes.
• Identify operational risks early and work with stakeholders to develop practical mitigations.

Airline community representation and stakeholder management

• Build trusted relationships with airlines, station managers, Heathrow operational teams, ground handlers, UK Border Force, security teams, PRM providers and other key stakeholders.
• Represent the AOC at relevant terminal, passenger operations, security, immigration, PRM, resilience, disruption and seasonal readiness forums.
• Gather and represent airline views effectively, recognising differences between individual airlines while supporting agreed community positions.
• Provide clear and timely updates to AOC members and senior stakeholders.
• Support airlines and ground handlers during incidents and disruption, helping ensure effective communication and a swift return to normal operations.
• Influence and challenge senior stakeholders without direct authority, balancing collaboration with robust challenge.

Performance, service delivery and continuous improvement

• Monitor above-wing performance using KPIs, SLAs, MTIs, ECAC measures, QSM results and other operational indicators.
• Use data, operational observation and airline feedback to identify performance gaps, risks and improvement opportunities.
• Challenge performance where reporting does not reflect the operational reality experienced by airlines and passengers.
• Work with Heathrow and service providers to develop measurable and deliverable improvement plans.
• Hold stakeholders and service providers to account against agreed standards and service obligations.
• Ensure lessons from incidents, trials and major operational events are captured and translated into practical improvements.

PRM and passenger assistance

• Act as the AOC operational lead on PRM and passenger assistance matters.
• Represent airline interests with Heathrow, PRM providers, the CAA and other stakeholders.
• Monitor service delivery against relevant ECAC, CAA and contractual expectations.
• Challenge poor performance, weak root-cause analysis or inadequate improvement plans.
• Improve visibility of PRM performance, operational readiness, data and passenger impacts.
• Sup…