Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce has announced his early departure from the airline amid a period of turbulence for the company.
Joyce, who was already set to leave, will now exit his role two months earlier than planned, with his departure scheduled for Wednesday, September 6.
In a statement the airline said: “Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce has advised the Board he will bring forward his retirement by two months to help the company accelerate its renewal.”
His decision comes in the wake of a challenging few weeks for Qantas, marked by public outrage over soaring airfare costs and criticism of the airline's refund policies during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
And just days ago the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission took Qantas to court, alleging it sold tickets for more than 8000 flights scheduled to leave between May and July last year, even after it had cancelled them.
Joyce's departure underscores the severity of the issues Qantas has faced and is seen as a response to mounting pressure from both passengers and stakeholders.
Vanessa Hudson, who is currently serving as chief customer officer, will take on the role of managing director and group CEO, effective from September 6.
It is estimated Joyce's leaving package is around A$24M (NZ$26.1M).
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