Lessors have settled nearly all outstanding war risk and all-risk insurance claims at the Irish High Court related to aircraft expropriated by Russian airlines in 2022, lawyers representing the former owners of the aircraft revealed during a March 26 hearing.
While Avolon (case 2022/5514/P), BOC Aviation (2022/5538/P), Nordic Aviation Capital (2022/6232/P), and six SPVs for an unidentified lessor filing jointly (2022/6087/P) have already settled all of their claims, CDB Aviation (2022/5759/P) and SMBC Aviation Capital (2022/5975/P) are due to conclude the proceedings shortly. The final claims of both lessors against one of the insurers, Chubb, will be heard on April 11, although the parties have already reached an agreement in principle regarding settlement.
“While I have probably prepared the longest draft judgement I will never deliver, such an outcome is always to be preferred, particularly where, as here, the parties will likely continue to do business together for many years to come,” Justice Eileen Roberts said, as quoted by the Irish Times.
The terms of the settlements were not disclosed. When the lessors filed the claims in late 2022, they were reportedly seeking more than USD8 billion from a wide array of insurers and reinsurers.
The claims pertained to aircraft previously owned by the respective lessors and retained by Russian airlines in the country after the imposition of Western sanctions following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in March 2022. The Kremlin forbade airlines from returning their leased aircraft to foreign owners. Most of these aircraft were subsequently reregistered in Russia.
FTAI Aviation is separately pursuing claims against insurers in case H.P.2024.0003690, which it launched much later than the other lessors, in April 2024. The particulars of the claim are not public.
