Qantas boss Alan Joyce has warned airfares will fall from their post-pandemic peaks and moderate over the year as capacity returns and increasing competition keeps a lid on prices, sparking an investor sell-off despite the airline’s record $1.42 billion underlying interim profit.

Although the Qantas share price is up 32.3 per cent in the past six months, investors pushed the stock 6.8 per cent lower to $6.03 on Thursday amid early signs that high post-pandemic travel demand could start to fall away.