There’s been a management shake up at Australia’s flag carrier airline Qantas, which has come under fire for cancellations and delays

Jetstar CEO and longtime Qantas executive Gareth Evans has resigned.

He was touted as a potential replacement for controversial Qantas CEO Alan Joyce.

He has been chief of Jetstar since 2017, but has worked across the group and has now “decided this is the right moment to move on”.

This comes as the aviation grapples with the higher fuel prices and staffing issues at airports that are affecting much of the industry globally.

Strong demand

Qantas has also updated the market, saying it’s on track to record second half earnings of just over 500 million dollars.

Underlying profit is set to return in FY23, while debt levels are now well below pre-pandemic levels.

Qantas says this is due to continued strong domestic and international travel demand.

After peaking at more than $6.4bn at the height of the pandemic, net debt is expected to fall to around $4bn by June 30, an improvement of around $1.5bn in the past six months.

The airline has come under sustained pressure, with many passengers complaining about long queues, cancellations and delays.

Qantas is calling for patience ahead of the winter school break rush as it hires more staff to manage increased demand at airports.