London Southend appoints former No1 Lounges boss John Upton to top position
London Southend airport has appointed John Upton, former boss of international lounge company No1 Lounges, as chief executive.
Upton – whose tenure will begin in September – will replace Glyn Jones, who has been at the airport’s helm for the last seven years.
Jones – who has stepped down following the airport’s reopening to passengers – will remain on for a short amount of time to ensure a smooth transition.
“We expect John will help us to make advances in our already award-winning passenger experience, leverage his relationships and experience to help drive new partnerships and bring fresh ideas to support our ongoing community engagement projects,” said Lewis Girdwood, the airport’s executive director for aviation.
Battered by the pandemic’s impact, Southend has recently regained a stable financial footing following the return of passengers in May as well as a £125m investment from Carlyle.
The airport made the headlines last month when it offered airlines to host the flights cancelled at bigger airports amid the travel chaos.