WestJet announced the appointment of a new Executive Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer (COO) Diederik Pen, who will join the airline's executive leadership team in the early fall, following the completion of the immigration process. At that time, acting interim COO, Robert Antoniuk will take on a new role as Chief Safety, Health and Environment Officer. Mr. Pen has more than 25 years of aviation-industry experience in the Asia-Pacific and European regions, and joins WestJet most recently from Wizz Air, a fast-growing, ultra-low- cost business, where he was chief operations officer. Robert Antoniuk joined WestJet in April 2018 and took on the interim COO role in February 2021, as the airline conducted a global search for a permanent placement.