Aircraft Operations Duty Manager

Heathrow Airport; Hounslow; On-site; GBP 35,000 - 50,000; Full time

Job summary

A major international airport in the United Kingdom is looking for an Aircraft Operations Duty Manager (AODM). This key role involves overseeing aircraft flow and making crucial decisions to minimize delays. Required skills include strong stakeholder engagement, effective pressure management, and a valid UK driving license. This position operates on a shift basis. Join a dynamic team to help maintain exceptional airport operations and enjoy various competitive benefits.

Benefits

Competitive salary

Performance-based bonuses

Generous annual leave

Market-leading pensions

Family friendly policies

Private health insurance

Learning and development opportunities

Qualifications

• Possession of a valid UK driving licence.
• Strong ability to manage disruption and maintain control under pressure.
• Excellent stakeholder engagement skills.
• Proven management capability in a fast-paced environment.
• Flexibility and willingness to work shifts.

Responsibilities

• Acting as the key escalation point for Operations Controllers.
• Representing Heathrow in coordination with NATS.
• Working closely with meteorology experts.
• Leading daily operational calls.
• Building relationships with airlines and service providers.

Skills

Stakeholder engagement

Pressure management

Decision-making

Flexibility

Education

Valid UK driving license

Tools

Heathrow operational systems

Job description

Job Description

As an Aircraft Operations Duty Manager (AODM), you'll play a vital role in ensuring the smooth flow of aircraft and the effective delivery of the stand plan. You'll monitor capacity and take action when needed, including during the night quota period, to keep operations running efficiently. This includes managing diversions and implementing capacity interventions to protect the integrity of the operation. While minimising disruption wherever possible, you'll maintain clear and timely communication with internal and external stakeholders about any potential impacts.

Please note that this is a shift-based role (12 hour shifts, 2 days, 2 nights, 4 off).

Responsibilities

• Acting as the key escalation point for Operations Controllers, making real‑time decisions to keep aircraft moving and minimise delays.
• Representing Heathrow in coordination with NATS, balancing demand with capacity and adapting plans to changing conditions.
• Working closely with the Senior Operational Meteorologist to anticipate weather impacts and support proactive decision‑making.
• Leading daily operational calls, managing diversions, and overseeing capacity interventions, including decisions during the Night Quota Period.
• Building strong relationships with airlines, ground handlers, and service providers to resolve issues and maintain high operational standards.
• Ensuring personal and team compliance to meet legal and statutory obligations.

Qualifications

• Possession of a valid UK driving licence.
• Strong ability to manage disruption and maintain control under pressure.
• Excellent stakeholder engagement skills, with clear communication and the ability to build collaborative relationships.
• Proven management and conclusion‑making capability in a fast‑paced, dynamic environment, acting as an escalation point for operational issues.
• Flexibility and willingness to work shifts.

Ideally, you will also have:

• Comprehensive understanding of air traffic management principles and how they apply to Heathrow.
• Awareness of weather risk management and the ability to work closely with meteorology experts to mitigate operational impacts.
• Familiarity with Heathrow operational systems such as AOP, iAirport, IDAHO, TMS, and DCB.

About Us

There's something so special about working at the world's most iconic airport. Its sights. Its sounds. Its constant air of excitement. Heathrow is an amazing backdrop to a career filled with unique opportunities.

Every day, you'll discover a world full of fresh possibilities and come home buzzing with stories to tell, as you encounter people from all cultures, nationalities and experiences. A world full of pride for what we do and no end of exciting career prospects to explore.

It brings out the best in all of us. And inspires everyone to deliver on our ambitious plans. Together, we're working to welcome millions more passengers while ensuring aviation can continue to be a force for good by leading global efforts in sustainability.

Join us on that journey and we'll help you achieve your ambitions too. Supporting you to learn, encouraging you to be yourself, backing you to achieve more than you might ever have imagined. Because there's no place like Heathrow.

Our rewards

We offer competitive salaries and excellent benefits that will support you now and in the future. As well as performance‑based annual bonuses and our longer‑term Share in Success Bonus plans, we also offer generous annual leave allowances and market‑leading pensions. With family friendly policies, access to private health insurance and a wide range of wellbeing tools, we'll support you to be at your best inside and outside work. And of course, we'll provide varied learning and development opportunities too. Here you'll find everything you need for a fulfilling career journey that can take you in exciting directions.

Working location

This is an airport‑based position. Every day, you will play a critical role in helping us to give our passengers the best airport service in the world.

Sustainable Travel to work

Heathrow's Sustainable Travel Guide sets out easy and sustainable travel options that everyone can access.

Equal Opportunities

As an equal opportunities employer, we encourage applications from all. We believe that diverse talent makes us stronger – not least because we welcome passengers from all corners of the globe, every single day. Heathrow is an accessible place to work, and through our diversity networks, we champion inclusivity and celebrate individuality.

About the Team

It takes a special kind of team work to keep the world's most iconic airport running smoothly. Over 65,000 people across hundreds of companies work at Heathrow and together they are Team Heathrow. The airport team includes colleagues from airlines, baggage handlers, control authorities, retailers, passenger services, emergency services, transport providers, security, engineering, airfield operations and more.

Our team are responsible for managing relationships with our partners, and coordinating day‑to‑day operational activities, including the Airport Operating Centre (APOC) operational plan.

Our purpose is to make every journey better and we work closely with our Team Heathrow Partners to achieve it. We do this by building trusted relationships with our partners, working to understand our shared goals and continually driving up standards across safety, operational and resilience performance. This demands close collaboration and communications, clear governance, working to quickly identify and to resolve shared issues that proactively deliver improvement across Heathrow and for our passengers.

It's an inspiring, exciting place to work, with unlimited opportunities to make a difference. Be part of this city within a city and you'll find a team that feels like family, and a place where you belong.