Ryanair COO to leave airline

Ryanair COO Peter Bellew is leaving the airline at the end of this year after helping to steer it through a turbulent period of industrial relations. Bellew rejoined Ryanair from Malaysia Air, where he was CE, in late 2017. He had worked for the low-cost carrier between 2001 and 2015. Reports yesterday said that CE Michael O’Leary told Ryanair staff in a memo that Bellew was leaving the company. O’Leary said his colleague had “done great work over the past 18 months” to improve the management of Ryanair’s operations and the punctuality of its flights. Bellew’s move comes as Ryanair is restructuring itself as a holding company for several operating businesses, each with its own management. The change will see O’Leary lead the holding company and a new CE appointed to Ryanair, the Irish-based airline likely to constitute the largest part of the group. Some reports yesterday suggested that the departure related to the restructuring and appointments to new positions, but Bellew indicated to news agency Bloomberg that he was looking at other opportunities.<br/>