THE founder of easyJet has warned that the budget airline will "run out of money by around August", as he renewed calls to cancel a £4.5 billion order with Airbus.
The predicted time frame for the carrier to run out of cash, due to the coronavirus pandemic, would clash with peak holiday season for Brits – with millions currently booked to go away during the summer month for their annual break.
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Although it is not yet known how much of the travel industry will reopen for business this summer, as the Foreign Office has now advised Brits not to travel abroad "indefinitely".
Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou also called on the company to remove chief finance officer Andrew Findlay, as he said it would be "the best way to stop him writing billion-pound cheques plus to Airbus every year".
It comes after the Luton-based carrier grounded all of its planes last week as demand for flights collapsed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Chief executive Johan Lundgren has indicated that the airline would consider accepting Government bailout loans if needed.
But Sir Stelios, whose EASYGROUP still owns a third of the carrier, has said it will not need Government loans if it terminates the contract with Airbus.
He also claimed that he will not invest any further cash into the airline while the contract with the plane manufacturer is in place.
An easyJet spokesman said: "The board is managing the unprecedented challenges facing the airline and the aviation sector as a whole.
"We remain absolutely focused on short-term liquidity, removing expenditure from the business alongside safeguarding jobs and ensuring the long-term future of the airline.
"We believe that holding a general meeting would be an unhelpful distraction from tackling the many immediate issues our business faces."
On March 30, easyJet grounded its entire fleet of aircraft due to the coronavirus pandemic.
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