On Tuesday morning, JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ: JBLU) announced that its CEO is stepping down at a critical moment in the airline's history. The market hates surprises, and shares of JetBlue were trading down by more than 10% as of 12:25 p.m. ET following the announcement.

JetBlue has a lot going on right now. It's currently in court fighting an attempt by antitrust regulators to block its proposed acquisition of Spirit Airlines (NYSE: SAVE). It has also had to deal with operational issues tied to RTX engine issues, and is attempting to expand internationally while moving on from an abandoned partnership with American Airlines.

The last thing the company needs, seemingly, is to add a CEO transition to all that, but that's what investors woke up to on Tuesday. Robin Hayes is stepping down from the post after nearly nine years in charge, to be replaced by President and Chief Operating Officer Joanna Geraghty.

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Source Fool.com