Sir Richard also put airline staff on unpaid leave after hundreds of flights grounded.

He told in an interview: “Virgin Atlantic is ridiculous.

“But this is Branson’s second go at trying to fleece the British taxpayer for state aid.

“He tried it with Flybe, which owned by Delta, himself and a New York venture capitalist company.

“Now you have Virgin Atlantic, owned by Delta and a Caribbean based non-resident billionaire. Frankly, if he’s worried about Virgin he should write the cheque himself”

He went on: “It’s not like he’s short of money. You know his Virgin Galatic investment is worth about £1.3 billion today.

“So sitting in the Virgin Islands as a tax exile, asking the British government to bail you out, when you have more than sufficient resources to bail out Virgin Atlantic yourself is not something I believe that should be considered.”

Furthermore Mr O’Leary’s fury comes as a petition to strip the entrepreneur of his knighthood has gathered nearly 30,000 signatures.

Moreover Change.org campaign branded the Branson a “disgrace” and claim he has not paid personal income tax for 14 years.