RAWALPINDI: A Boeing 777 aircraft of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) was stopped at Kuala Lumpur International Airport over a legal dispute.

The aircraft’s leasing company had approached a local court on claims that the airline owed it $4.5 million.

The claim has been disputed by the PIA, which stated that it owned the aircraft and the leasing company only owned one of the mounted engines.

PIA spokesman Abdullah Hafeez Khan added that the actual dues stood at $1.8m, which have been paid to the company.

The claim submitted by the company to seek the impounding order was ‘incorrect’ and PIA has engaged its legal team in Kuala Lumpur to contest the matter in court, the spokesperson added.

The passengers of the said flight have been accommodated on an alternative aircraft, while the disputed Boeing 777 will also operate as a normal commercial flight from Kuala Lumpur, the PIA spokesman concluded.

This is the second dispute that resulted in the seizure of a PIA aircraft in Malaysia.

In January 2021, another Boeing 777 was held back for two weeks over a case involving $14 million in unpaid dues.

Published in Dawn, May 31st, 2023