Malaysia releases PIA plane grounded over lease dispute
The Kuala Lumpur High Court ordered the immediate release of the plane.
KUALA LUMPUR (Dunya News) – A Malaysian court on Wednesday ordered the immediate release of a Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) plane that was held in the Southeast Asian country nearly two weeks ago due to a British court case over the jet’s lease.
Malaysian authorities seized the Boeing 777 aircraft on Jan. 15 after a court allowed an application by the plane’s lessor, Peregrine Aviation Charlie Limited, to keep it grounded pending the outcome of a $14 million lease dispute with PIA in a UK court.
The Kuala Lumpur High Court ordered the immediate release of the plane after both sides said they had reached an amicable settlement to the dispute, involving two planes leased to PIA.
It is pertinent to mention here that PIA has paid $7 million to peregrine Aviation Charlie Ltd in the case related to two jets leased to it by Dublin-based AerCap.
The leasing company had filed a case against the PIA in London High Court in October 2020 over its failure to pay the leasing fee worth about $14 million which had been pending for six months.
In response, Pakistan national carrier had maintained that since the COVID-19 pandemic had seriously affected the aviation industry, there should be a reduction in the overhead charges.
Meanwhile, the leasing company kept an eye on the activities of PIA, and as soon as it received the information of flight 895’s scheduled landing in Malaysia, it appealed to a local court to seize the aircraft as per the international civil aviation leasing laws, sources added.
