Buck leaves BATA

He has been at the helm at the British Air Transport Association( BATA) for four years and will retire in September 2014. A recruitment process has been launched to find his successor.

Buck, who first became involved in aviation for the first time more than 25 years ago, said he is looking forward to the next stage in his life.

“I will miss many colleagues, both within the BATA membership, across the spectrum of the industry and in regulatory circles,” he said.

“But I am now looking forward to early retirement and seeing more of my family which will involve my being overseas for much of the time. I wish my eventual successor every happiness and success in rising to the challenges which airlines continue to face.”

Barry Humphreys, Chairman of BATA, said: “Despite deregulation in some areas, aviation continues to be a highly regulated industry, subject to considerable political intervention. If anything, therefore, the role of an airline trade body has become even more important and BATAhas had to evolve to meet the growing challenges.

Simon has been central to that development and has played a key role in ensuring that BATA’s, and its airline members’, voices have been heard by government and regulators. Today BATAis a more active and visible organisation than when Simon joined, for which he should take much of the credit. He will be a hard act to follow, but we wish him all the best in his retirement”.