Heathrow Airport is sounding out candidates to take over from Lord Deighton, its long-serving chairman.

Sky News has learnt that Britain's biggest aviation hub is working with the headhunter Russell Reynolds Associates to recruit a successor to Lord Deighton, who took up the post in 2016.

The search has emerged days after Heathrow warned of a more challenging transatlantic travel market in a sign of the ongoing fallout from President Trump's trade war.

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Under Lord Deighton, the former Treasury minister and Goldman Sachs executive, Heathrow has overhauled its ownership structure.

More recently, it has been dealing with the fallout from the electrical fire close to the airport which saw Heathrow shut for nearly an entire day in March.

The company said it would implement the recommendations of a review conducted by former transport secretary Ruth Kelly.

Succession planning for the airport's chairmanship was disclosed in its annual report but has not been reported.

In it, Lord Deighton wrote: "In light of the recent changes to the HAHL [Heathrow Airport Holdings Limited] board resulting from the completion of the share sale on 12 December 2024, and the relatively new appointments of the chief executive and chief financial officer, the nominations committee, comprising a number of non-executive shareholder directors, has asked me to extend my appointment for a limited period to help ensure a smooth transition whilst new non-executive shareholder directors become familiar with the business and a new chair is appointed.

"I have therefore agreed to extend my role as Chair for a limited period to ensure continuity and stability on the HAHL Board during this period of transition."

An announcement about the chosen candidate is expected later this year.