Goyder will retire “prior to the Annual General Meeting in late 2024” according to Qantas as part of board renewal plans designed to refresh the reputation of the embattled airline.

It follows calls from the Australian Shareholders Association last month for the chairman to step down and comes as Qantas is under the microscope of a Senate committee hearing into the role the airline played in a decision to knock back Qatar Airway’s application to double its flights into Australia.

Today, the Qantas board said its plans for board renewal were “in recognition of the reputational issues facing the group and to support restoration of trust in the company”.

The announcement comes just over a month after former CEO Alan Joyce resigned.

Board members Jacqueline Hey and Maxine Brenner will also both retire earlier at the Qantas half-year results in February 2024. Both served on the Qantas board for ten years.

Three new directors will offer themselves for election at Qantas’ upcoming AGM – Doug Parker, Dr Heather Smith and CEO and managing director Vanessa Hudson. Todd Sampson and Belinda Hutchinson will also both seek re-election at the annual meeting of shareholders.

Qantas said that once the new board members are in place it intends on only keeping them in the leadership roles for “an average tenure of around three years” which it hopes will provide “a balance of fresh leadership with necessary continuity”.

In a statement to shareholders, Goyder said today he recognised “accountability is required to restore trust”.

“Qantas has gone through an incredibly difficult period since our operation was grounded during the pandemic,” Goyder said.

“The recovery has not been easy, and mistakes were made. We again apologise for those times where we got it wrong.

“I have always sought to act in the best interests of Qantas. Measured and orderly succession at board level will support the important work underway led by Vanessa and her new management team. Fundamentally, the group is in a very strong position to overcome its current challenges and deliver for all its stakeholders in the years ahead.”

The chairman’s retirement announcement comes after a series of blows to Qantas’ reputation including a High Court ruling the carrier had illegally sacked almost 1700 workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the consumer watchdog launching Federal Court action alleging it sold customers tickets on flights it had already cancelled.

In September Qantas announced Joyce was leaving the company, two months earlier than expected, to “help the company accelerate its renewal”.

Joyce, who helmed the national carrier from 2008, said he decided to leave the post early so the airline could proceed with “renewal”.