British Airways Chief Executive Rod Eddington will leave Europe's No. 2 airline this summer or soon after to return to Australia, a newspaper reported, citing "insiders".

Eddington has told friends he wants to be back in his native Australia by January and will travel in Europe first, the UK's Sunday Times said.

His departure depends on when Chairman Martin Broughton finds a replacement, but he is "likely to leave the airline within months of its annual meeting in July", the paper said.

There has been speculation for some time that Eddington could leave the airline later this year. A newspaper based in his home city of Perth quoted him in January saying he hoped to return to Australia in the short term.

Eddington refused to comment on his plans when questioned at a media conference last month.

"There is nothing imminent in terms of an announcement. This story has been around for the past year," a BA spokesman said on Sunday.

Asked whether Eddington was likely to leave in the summer, he said: "That is news to me. I don't know where it has come from." He did point out that Brougton said when appointed last year that he expected to find a new CEO during his tenure.

Separately, the Observer newspaper said BA's shortlist for a successor included Tony Tyler, chief operating officer of Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific; James Hogan, who runs Gulf Air; and Willie Walsh, the former CEO of Aer Lingus.

"There are no names there you wouldn't expect to be on anybody's shortlist," said the BA spokesman.

"Company sources" dismissed speculation that Barbara Cassani, who headed BA's low-cost offshoot Go, was a candidate, the Observer added.