Mark Oliver

Heathrow Airport

Even the wildest of predictions at the beginning of 2020 couldn’t have envisaged what lay ahead for Heathrow’s deputy general counsel, Mark Oliver. Two months in, Heathrow’s plans for a third runway were thrown off course when the Court of Appeal ruled that the Government’s airport policy was unlawful, as it had failed to take into account the impact on commitments made under the Paris agreement. Then Covid-19 hit, grinding the aviation industry to a halt.

For Oliver, the situation required diverse thinking on many legal topics. Heathrow experienced an 80 per cent drop off in the number of passengers, with air traffic movements taken up by cargo or freight flights. The focus shifted to reallocating resources and helping to keep the country operational by bringing in cargo and PPE.

Once small numbers of passengers resumed flying, Oliver worked closely with the Government to facilitate Covid-19 testing at the airport and the subsequent protection of passenger data, as well as ensuring that robust quarantine safety measures were implemented.

As well as safeguarding Heathrow through an arduous year, Oliver and his team also successfully overturned the Court of Appeal’s February judgment, meaning Heathrow is now entitled to apply for planning permission for its third runway.