Former Manchester airport managing director Andrew Cornish is joining rival Liverpool John Lennon airport as CEO.
He is moving from being chief customer and brand officer at Aer Lingus, having previously spent five years as boss at Manchester airport.
Cornish replaces Matthew Thomas who is joining former Liverpool airport owners Vantage Airport Group at the end of the month.
Thomas said: “Working for Liverpool John Lennon airport has been a tremendous experience for me and this was always going to be a difficult decision, but having overseen the recent change in ownership and the subsequent smooth transition into the Peel Group, this was a good time for me to pursue new challenges with Vantage Airport Group.
“The business is now in a great position to grow and I know that as I hand over the leadership to Andrew, the prospects for the Airport are excellent.”
Cornish said: “I have watched Liverpool’s progress carefully in recent years and with Peel’s investment back into the airport I am very excited at being given the opportunity to now take the business forward.
“I am aware that much has been done by the staff at Liverpool to make it one of the UK’s best performing airports operationally.
“I am keen to build upon this reputation, to grow passenger numbers back to the levels seen prior to the recession and to give the people of the city region an airport they can be proud of.”
Airport chairman Robert Hough said: ”Matthew has been instrumental in moving the company forward materially during his time in charge and I would like to thank him for all he has achieved. We are naturally sorry to see him leave.
“However, I know the region will welcome Andrew in his new role as he uses his wealth of experience to help establish Liverpool as the airport of choice for passengers across the region.”
The airport handled more than 4.2 million passengers last year with flights to more than 50 destinations and supports 4,750 jobs in the region.