AER LINGUS has parted company with Niall Walsh, its deputy chief executive and chief operating officer.

In a statement issued yesterday, Aer Lingus said Mr Walsh was leaving “with immediate effect” after 16 years with the airline “to pursue other interests”.

Aer Lingus chief executive Christoph Mueller has assumed responsibility for the duties of the COO for a “temporary period”.

“Fergus Wilson, chief engineer, who has recently completed the successful integration of SRT line maintenance operations [into the airline] will resume executive responsibilities and will assist the CEO in this task,” Aer Lingus added. The role of deputy chief executive will be discontinued.

Mr Walsh is the third senior executive to leave in the past year. Former CEO Dermot Mannion quit last April, while finance chief Seán Coyle announced his departure in December just 16 months after joining from Ryanair.

Mr Walsh was one of a handful of Aer Lingus executives awarded so-called golden parachute exit packages in late 2008. This entitled the executives to two years remuneration as compensation for loss of office in the event of a change of ownership.

These contracts caused a furore, with Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey expressing anger to the board of Aer Lingus. The contracts were later annulled.

Mr Walsh’s departure means Aer Lingus is seeking to recruit both a chief operating officer and a finance director, the two most senior roles after that of chief executive.

The change comes as Aer Lingus is being buffeted by the recession and is seeking to finalise a big cost rationalisation programme with staff that will lead to about 676 redundancies.

Aer Lingus is seeking to trim its overheads by €97 million a year as part of this cost-cutting plan. The airline announced in December it had appointed Andrew Macfarlane as its interim chief financial officer. Aer Lingus will hold an investor day on Tuesday in London to outline its strategy.