A new boss of regulation policy at the Civil Aviation Authority has been named.
Iain Osborne, current chief executive of the Northern Ireland Authority for Utility Regulation, will become group director of regulatory policy on January 10.
He replaces Dr Harry Bush, who is standing down from the CAA board at the end of the year after serving as group director, economic regulation since 2003.
Osborne’s key tasks will be to ensure the CAA develops and delivers a consistent regulatory approach, offering choice and value for all aviation customers, the Department for Transport, which made the appointment, said.
He will be responsible for taking forward changes to the economic regulation of airports currently being considered by the Government.
The appointment is for five years at an initial salary of £142,277 a year. Osborne has held senior roles within the telecoms industry, the energy regulator OFGEM and the European Commission.
Osborne said: “The prospect of new legislation provides a once-in-a-generation chance to modernise economic regulation in civil aviation.
“I know that all the key stakeholders want to deliver the best possible service for passengers and I look forward to working collaboratively and creatively – with airlines, airports and Government, as well as with the direct representatives of passengers – to enhance our shared ability to do just that.”
The CAA also announced that Richard Moriarty will become the new director of economic regulation in the new year.
He is currently executive director for market development at the Tenant Services Authority, and previously worked as director of competition and regulation at Postcomm. Prior to that he worked for Ofgas and Ofgem.
Moriarty said: “I look forward to joining the CAA and starting work on the next round of price controls at the major airports when the sector has experienced more changes over the past two years than at any time in the past two decades.”
CAA chairwoman Dame Deirdre Hutton said: “When I joined the CAA, I made clear that a priority for the organisation would be to place the public at the heart of all we do.
“That is, after all, our fundamental job as a regulator; whether it is in protecting safety, promoting a market that gives consumers choice and value, or helping to protect the environment.
“Iain’s appointment allows us to take forward some of these key tasks ensuring that in our role as the economic regulator of the UK’s busiest airports we develop an approach and incentives that ensures UK citizens get a good deal from this sector.”