Airbus, Europe's troubled aircraft maker, faced the wrath of its customers yesterday after preparing the way for an announcement of further delays to its flagship A380.

Thomas Enders, the chief executive, hinted that difficulties in fitting the superjumbo with 500km (311 miles) of cabling were threatening to derail production.

His comments came amid damaging speculation that EADS, the European aerospace and defence giant that owns Airbus, may have to revamp a restructuring plan designed to save €5 billion (£3.9 billion) a year.

In the strongest sign yet that further delays are possible, Mr Enders said that Airbus was still grappling with the wiring problems that had plunged his company's factories into turmoil two years ago and wiped €5.5 billion off EADS's stock market value.

The 2006 fiasco has left 17 past and present EADS executives facing allegations of insider dealing for selling stock while reportedly failing to divulge the looming crisis to investors.

Mr Enders appears intent on avoiding similar accusations this time and commentators said that he was preparing the market for more bad news. In an interview with German radio,which was not broadcast at the request of Airbus but was sent to press agencies as a transcript, Mr Enders described the group's programme as “ambitious” - a codeword for unrealistic, according to many analysts.

Their concerns were fuelled when airlines that have ordered the €210 million aircraft said they had received a letter from the manufacturer amid the rumours of delivery setbacks.

Airbus said that the letter highlighted the “challenging” production schedule, but Etihad Airways of the United Arab Emirates said that it had gone further and given warning of delays.

Tim Clark, the chairman of Dubai's Emirates airline, said: “It's very serious. This will do us serious damage.” He said that Emirates, which has ordered 58 A380s, would find out within three weeks if Airbus would meet its timetable.

Airbus is believed to be in line to deliver 13 A380s this year as planned. However, it is understood to be unsure whether it will be able to fulfil a commitment to hand over a further 25 next year. The crunch will come when the factory stops installing the wiring by hand - an emergency measure introduced to overcome initial difficulties - and moves to a fully automated process.

Mr Enders said that the increase in delivery numbers was under review. “We now have to look at this and to see if we indeed manage the production or if this is not the case, respectively, which counteractive measures we have to take.” Asked if he could confirm delays, he said: “I cannot answer your question here and now.”

Further setbacks would trigger stiff penalties and sow doubt among investors at a time when EADS is struggling to implement its Power 8 restructuring programme, which initially involved 10,000 job cuts and the sale of seven factories. After talks to offload two German plants collapsed, trade unions said last night that a deal over two French factories was also in jeopardy. They said that Latécoère, the fuselage maker in talks with Airbus, was struggling to finance the purchase.

The only comfort for Airbus comes from the United States, where Boeing faces delays over its 787 programme.

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