Bonza’s backers in the United States were secretly plotting to “get the planes out” and “wind this up” more than a month before they abruptly seized the airline’s aircraft and send the carrier into receivership on April 30, leaving thousands of travellers stranded and out of pocket.

Emails sent between the airline’s Miami-headquartered private equity owner, 777 Partners, its financier A-Cap, and an aircraft lessor known as AIP Capital suggest the companies were co-ordinating decision-making about Bonza, a low-cost carrier which only began flying early last year.