Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce has reacted to an incident where a man smashed a pie into his face earlier this morning.

Speaking at an event at Perth Airport afterwards, Mr Joyce, who refused to speculate on the motive of the man, said after nine years in his role, he had never experienced anything like it.

“When you’ve been the CEO of an airline for nine years, there’s a lot of things that have happened over that period of time, this is different, but it’s not unusual. It is an unusual event, but things like this have happened in the past,” he said.

Camera Icon The man was calm as he put the pie in the chief executive’s face. Credit: Clarissa Phillips/The West Australian

“Obviously, we were there for a very serious event, to talk about the opportunity that this Perth to London has, it was talk to a lot of our customers, a lot of our suppliers and I’m glad I still had the opportunity to be able to communicate to them.”

Play Video The man who allegedly threw the pie in Qantas chief Alan Joyce's face is spoken to after the incident. The West Australian Video The man who allegedly threw the pie in Qantas chief Alan Joyce's face is spoken to after the incident.

“It’s in the hands of the police and we should let them do their investigation

When asked about the flavour of the pie, Mr Joyce said he had no idea what type of pie it was.

“I have no idea (what the flavour was), I’m not a big pie eater,” he said

“I didn’t have a chance to test it, it was mostly on my glasses.

“I think my issue is I’ll need a good dry cleaner in Perth, so if you have one please recommend one.”

The editor of The West Australian Brett McCarthy released a statement.

“Hotel security and WA police were in attendance. They dealt with the issue swiftly,” Mr McCarthy said.

“To his credit, in a calm and measured way, Mr Joyce stepped off stage. When he returned to complete his presentation he was given a standing ovation from the sell-out 500 strong audience.

“The West apologises for this regrettable incident. We commend Mr Joyce on his presence of mind and the professional manner in which he managed the situation.”

A 67-year-old man from Willetton has been charged with giving a false name to police over the incident.