An almighty row has exploded at easyJet with founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou demanding the airline start paying him dividends, and threatening to appoint himself chairman again.

The budget airline today released the details of a missive its directors received by email last night from Stelios.

Though closely linked with easyJet and speaking for 41% of the airline's shares held by himself and his family, Stelios has no executive role in the company and though still a non-executive director, has not been chairman since 2002.

However, last night's shock intervention, which followed a meeting of the board, indicates Stelios is flexing his muscles again and in demanding that the carrier begins paying dividends for the first time in its 13-year history immediately sparked speculation over the financial health of his easyGroup empire of small businesses.

The intervention, which is understood to have been unheralded, has piled pressure on chairman Sir Colin Chandler and easyJet chief executive Andy Harrison.

In the email, Stelios said his sister Clelia had transferred her shareholding into easyGroup giving easyGroup more than 25% of easyJet's shares and therefore the right to appoint two directors to the easyJet board.

As such, Stelios told the easyJet board that if it did not appoint his two representatives as directors he could exercise his right under the company's articles to appoint himself chairman again. The email added that he wants easyJet to restrict expansion and future aircraft orders and instead start making dividend payments, which the airline has always said it would not do, preferring to reinvest cash to fund growth. The airline has committed to spend £950 million in the next two years on the way to taking delivery of 85 new aircraft.

In a carefully crafted response Chandler indicated the board has made no decision on Stelios's demands. He also pointedly added: "I would like to make it clear up front that the other non-executives [led by tough-talking ex-Ladbrokes boss Sir David Michels and including DSG International boss John Browett, Channel 5 chairman Dawn Airey and ex-Alliance & Leicester executive David Bennett] and I fully support the executive management of the company."