Jet2 PLC (AIM:JET2) shares fell 3% to 1,426p on Wednesday morning after co-founder Philip Meeson sold a 2.3% stake in the company.
The sale would net him an estimated £73 million based on yesterday's closing share price of 1,470p.
Meeson, who bought what was a cargo airline 40 years ago and transformed it into a multinational airline, agreed to sell 5,000,000 shares in a placing, organised by broker Jefferies.
The shares were offloaded to several institutional investors for "personal financial considerations alone," a statement said. The company will not receive any of the proceeds.
Meeson "believes that Jet2, as a market leader in the holiday business and with its firm order for 146 Airbus A321 aircraft is ideally positioned to take advantage of a market with huge potential.
"He believes there is a great future for Jet2 and he expects to continue as a very substantial shareholder in Jet2 going forward."
Meeson, who was listed as having more than a 17% stake before the placing, agreed to a lock-up period of 90 days for his remaining shares.