Saudi Arabian Airlines warning over seized plane

29 October 2009

By Mohammed Al-Kinani

JEDDAH – Saudi Arabian Airlines (SAA) said Monday that the seizure of a rented aircraft over a financial dispute with Eagle Aviation would affect the continuation of its flights to France.A Saudi Arabian Airlines Boeing 777-200 was seized at Paris’s Charles de Gaulle airport in a legal dispute over a $2 million debt, airport sources in Paris said Saturday. The sources said the airliner was seized Friday after its arrival from Riyadh by bailiffs acting on instructions from the Saint Nazaire commercial tribunal in the west of France. Eagle Aviation, an aircraft leasing firm based in Saint Nazaire, alleges that it is owed $2 million for providing the aircraft.SAA’s top official said that his company would ask for more from Eagle Aviation but did not confirm the amount involved in the dispute.“Saudi Arabian Airlines, in fact, is demanding much more amounts than what Eagle Aviation is claiming,” said SAA Director General Khaled Al-Mulheim. “We say that after they declined to make the regular adjustments on these amounts.” He said he was surprised on April 17 to hear of the seizure despite a court hearing set for Tuesday (April 23) on Eagle Aviation’s suit against Saudia. “This comes despite the contract conditions with the company that commit both parties to resort to the Saudi judiciary in case of dispute,” Al-Mulheim said. “After the French company’s bankruptcy, the authority appointed by the French court arbitrarily obtained a warrant to seize one of our planes, without paying attention to our rights or even informing us,” he said.Al-Mulheim said the move was illegal according to SAA’s lawyer, and therefore the warrant has to be set aside. “The Easter holiday in Europe when nearly all judges, especially those concerned with the laws of aviation, were not present, resulted in the plane being held for inquiries until the hearing on Tuesday on the basis of an appeal made by Saudi Arabian Airlines before the seizure of the plane.” He said SAA would stick to the terms of the contract and not waive its rights.