Grounded PIA plane released by Malaysian court

Islamabad: A Malaysian court on Wednesday ordered the release of a Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) plane that had been grounded in the Southeast Asian country for nearly two weeks due to a British court case over the jet’s lease.

Malaysian authorities had seized the Boeing 777 aircraft on January 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, Dawn reported.

The Kuala Lumpur High Court ordered that the plane be released immediately after both sides said they had reached an amicable settlement involving two planes leased to PIA.

With this, the two Boeing aircraft operated by PIAC would be released with immediate effect.

The two jets were leased to PIA by Dublin-based AerCap, the world’s largest aircraft lessor, in 2015. (UNI)