Picture by Flickr User Pex Cornel

If Easyjet doesn’t improve its punctuality within the next 90 days, its founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou is threatening to take the airline’s name away.

In a letter sent to the airline, Sir Stelios said he would withdraw Easyjet’s brand licence if it failed to make improvements. This comes as a response to reports over the weekend that more than half of Easyjet’s flights from London Gatwick were late. Sir Stelios blames a shortage of staff and bad management.

In the letter, sent via Easygroup’s solicitors Bird & Bird, he said: “I have been receiving many unsolicited complaints from members of the public and even Easyjet pilots about the degree that the airline is short of crew to operate the flights it sold to its customers.

“Unless Mike Rake (the chairman) and Carolyn McCall (the new chief executive) do something to improve the situation for the sake of the travelling public, I am left with no option but to terminate the brand licence.”

Earlier this year I wrote a blog detailing the high court battle between Sir Stelios and the airline over revenue issues and the founder’s desire to set up a new company using the Easyjet name. See the full blog here.