Andrew McConnell

Andrew McConnell is the Head of Media & External Affairs at the UK Civil Aviation Authority. He has worked in the travel and transport sector for more than 30 years. His time at the UK Civil Aviation Authority has seen him lead the communications team through some of the biggest events in UK aviation, including the collapse of Thomas Cook and Monarch, the regulators' Covid-19 response and the organisation becoming the UK's spaceflight regulator. Andrew's career began in rail operations roles during the British Rail era, later being involved in the launch of Eurostar at Waterloo International Terminal. Since 2007 Andrew has specialised in communications, with his first media relations role at Heathrow Express before moving on to be Head of Corporate Affairs for easyJet. This saw him involved in the company's substantive growth and launch of a charitable partnership with UNICEF, which to date has raised over £11 million. Other high-profile organisations Andrew has worked for include Flybe, Malaysia Airlines, Virgin Trains and The Department for Transport. In 2021 Andrew was given the Freedom of The City of London.