The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) plane which had been held in Malaysia for nearly two weeks landed in Islamabad on Friday.
The Boeing 777, along with its 173 passengers, was returned to the country after a Malaysian court had ordered its release earlier this week after the airline reached an out-of-court settlement with the leasing firm.
The plane had been held in capital Kuala Lumpur 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 United Kingdom court.
At the time, the national flag carrier had called the decision by the Malaysian court “one-sided” and said it had caused “inconvenience to the passengers who had already boarded the plane”.
The Kuala Lumpur High Court had 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, according to a lawyer representing the airline.
“Peregrine has agreed to withdraw its suit against PIAC (Pakistan International Airlines Corporation) and for the injunction orders to be set aside,” PIA counsel Kwan Will Sen had said.
“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.
They are part of a portfolio that AerCap sold to Peregrine Aviation Co Ltd, an investment unit of NCB Capital, the brokerage arm of National Commercial Bank SJSC, in 2018.
AerCap, which continued as part of the agreement to provide lease management services to Peregrine, has declined to make any comment on the case.
