EasyJet to defer delivery of 24 Airbus jets

British airline EasyJet said it would defer the delivery of 24 Airbus jets and hold a shareholder meeting after the airline’s founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou stepped up a disagreement over the airline’s expansion plans.

The move, which means easyJet won’t take any planes in the 2021 financial year, comes a day after Airbus announced plans to cut jetliner production after the coronavirus epidemic triggered aviation’s worst industrial crisis and drastically reduced deliveries to cash-starved airlines.

The European manufacturer said it had received requests for postponements and deferrals into next year. EasyJet is among the first airlines to publicly outline its jet delivery deferral plans.

But the announcement did little to quell Haji-Ioannou’s anger with the company’s board, as he threatened to write to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) over its relationship with Airbus.

EasyJet’s biggest shareholder, Haji-Ioannou has demanded a shareholder vote to remove two directors as part of his battle to try to force the British airline to cancel an order for 107 Airbus planes. EasyJet on Thursday confirmed it intended to hold a general meeting.

Haji-Ioannou says the new jets are useless given the crippling impact of the coronavirus pandemic on air travel and that their 4.5 billion pounds ($5.5 billion) price tag threaten the firm’s survival. A source familiar with the matter has said the amount due is significantly less.

He demanded clarity over the arrangements with Airbus and said it would be “scandalous” to pay the plane-maker while easyJet was making no revenue.