Walsh says he will not change style when head of NTMA committee

International Airlines Group (IAG) chief executive Willie Walsh says he will not "change his style" when he takes the helm at the board responsible for the agency that manges the Republic's national debt.

Mr Walsh, who is head of Europe's third largest airline, was recently appointed chairman of the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) advisory committee and will chair the new statutory board when it comes into being this year.

The airline boss has not been afraid to criticise politicians in either the UK or the Republic when he believes they are unnecessarily interfering in the aviation industry.

Speaking ahead of a Dublin Chamber of Commerce annual dinner last night, he said: "I see my role as supporting and challenging John Corrigan [NTMA chief executive] and his management team."

Mr Walsh stressed that he had no political affiliations and he had experience of State boards from his time at Aer Lingus.

He also pointed out that he had direct experience of bond markets. IAG last year raised $927 million in specialised instruments known as enhanced equipment trust certificates and raised a further €390 million from capital markets.

Speaking at the chamber dinner, he told guests that IAG subsidiary British Airways planned to land flights from Dublin and Belfast in Heathrow's terminal five, moving them from their current destination at terminal one. The move would cut connection times to other BA services by 30-60 minutes.

Mr Walsh said the airline was “very pleased” with the increase in traffic on its routes from the two Irish cities.