The bitter dispute that has erupted over the future of Stobart Group will not threaten the future of Carlisle Airport’s twice delayed plan to launch passenger flights next year.

The reassurance has been given by the firm’s sacked director and former chief executive Andrew Tinkler.

In an exclusive interview, the millionaire businessman spoke of his determination to continue his fight to influence the future of the company which has been plunged into turmoil by a bitter boardroom battle over who ultimately will control it.

At a heated annual general meeting last Friday, 51.4 per cent of shareholders voted to reappoint Mr Tinkler as a director following his earlier sacking from the board.

Yet within hours he was sacked for a second time as chairman Iain Ferguson declared that Tinkler’s presence as a director on the board was not in the firm’s best interests.

Stobart Group has now also confirmed that Mr Ferguson will step down as chairman.

The crisis deepened as officials at the redeveloped Carlisle Lake District Airport put back the start of passenger flights for the second time, announcing that their September 3 deadline – three months after the original take off date – has been moved to next year.

The setback was caused by problems with air traffic control training, said Kate Willard, who is head of corporate projects at Stobart Group.

“I didn’t know anything about this until it was announced,” Mr Tinkler told The Cumberland News .

“I just can’t believe it.

“I wasn’t involved and I haven’t been able to be involved of late.

“This is not the way Stobart does things. This will obviously damage the airport’s reputation.

“I can’t comment on why the airport is now in this position.

“But the fact is that we now do have an airport that is fit for purpose, and I know that Stobart Group is supportive of this project.

“We have an airport that is sustainable. It will not make a lot of money but it will be sustainable. The issue of getting air traffic controllers is solvable.”

Mr Tinkler was adamant that the turmoil that has engulfed Stobart Group at board level will not impact on the plan to launch passenger flights from the spring of next year.

He added: “We did the numbers and we were conservative about the numbers we would get through the airport. They’ve spent £14m to £15m on doing it and it would be silly not to go forward with it.”

The businessman also rejected any suggestion of potential problems linked to financial losses made by Loganair, the airline partner that will operate the planned flights to London Southend, Belfast, and Dublin. The Glasgow-based firm this week reported a pre-tax loss of £8.93m for the year to March 2018. The firm blamed the end of its franchise agreement with Flybe.

Without the non-recurring items associated with the airline’s former partner, Loganair would have recorded an underlying pre-tax profit of £2.95m.

In the meantime, Mr Tinkler has vowed to continue fighting for what he says are the best interests of both Stobart Group’s employees and its shareholders.

Mr Tinkler yesterday cold-shouldered a suggestion from Stobart bosses that he should sell his shares, saying: “It’s not about me; it’s about doing what’s right for the company.”

The firm has set in motion its search for a new chairman – a role that Mr Tinkler has said should be filled by Edinburgh Woollen Mill tycoon Philip Day.

The vote on whether to elect Mr Day to the board, with a view to him becoming its chairman, has been put on hold indefinitely.