PIA Lease payment for seized aircraft: PIA officials to appear in UK, Malaysia courts
Islamabad: A day after a Pakistan International Airlines plane was impounded by Malaysian authorities due to a British court case over the aircraft’s $14 million lease dispute, country's Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan on Saturday said the national carrier did not pay the lease due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Talking to reporters in Chak Beli Khan, the aviation minister was quoted as saying by Dawn News that PIA got two aircraft on lease in 2015 but due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the airline failed to pay the dues last year.
The Pakistani minister said a case was pending in a United Kingdom’s court and the airline was contesting the case in the UK but there had been no ruling in it yet.
He even said the Malaysian court gave its order without getting PIA’s stance on the issue.
“Our lawyers will appear in the UK court on Jan 22 and in Kuala Lumpur court on Jan 24,” he was quoted as saying by Dawn News.
Malaysian authorities recently seized a Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) Boeing-777 aircraft at Kuala Lumpur airport over outstanding lease dues.
The PIA plane was seized on the orders of a local Malaysian court over the non-payment of aircraft lease dues, sources disclosed to Geo News.
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