Spanish CEO of British Airways fired after company branded ‘national disgrace’ by MPs

BRITISH Airways have given their chief executive the boot after a turbulent four years at the helm of the airline.

Spaniard Alex Cruz from Bilbao, Biscay, has been fired from his role and replaced by Aer Lingus boss Sean Doyle amid a company wide reshuffle.

It comes after the airline made 12,000 staff redundant during the coronavirus pandemic with MPs labelling the company a ‘national disgrace’.

In March, Cruz told the Commons transport committee BA was ‘fighting for survival‘ but they challenged this claim saying he was destructing a ‘loyal workforce’.

During the four years Cruz was in charge of the airline, BA outraged customers with staff strikes, data leaks and severe IT failures.

And when free in flight meals were replaced with meals to buy on board, customer satisfaction drastically depleted.

Despite his Spanish roots, Cruz studied business at the Southern Methodist University in Dallas while working for American Airlines.

Cruz then moved from Clickair, which later merged with Vueling, in 2006 before taking on the lead role at British Airways.

There will now be a transition period where Cruz acts as a non-executive chairman before Doyle also takes on this role.

Luis Gallego, head of International Airlines which owns BA, said Cruz ‘has led the airline through a particularly demanding period.’