The business said Alan Littlewood would take an extended break after leaving before making any decisions on future roles.

However, speaking on the Australian Aviation Podcast, Sharp expressed sympathy for his counterpart, who he said had suffered “vicious” criticism despite other figures expressing similar views previously.

A consortium of unions have lost their final legal bid to allow Qantas workers, including a 30-year veteran undergoing cancer treatment, to claim sick leave while stood down.

The airport revealed the numbers travelling through were 1,489,000, up 30 per cent from March and almost double December’s Christmas high of 659,000.