Court to decide whether insurance case over jets stranded in Russia will be heard in England or Moscow

A single court hearing will deal with aircraft lessors’ arguments against their insurers’ bid to have claims for jets stranded in Russia heard in Moscow.

Irish-based AerCap and Carlyle Aviation Partners joined eight other lessors on Friday in an effort to have the English high court rule on insurance claims for billions of euro worth of aircraft lost as a consequence of the war in Ukraine.

Insurers want the cases heard in Russia, where the aircraft were leased and the original insurance contracts signed, but lessors argue that this is unworkable and that English courts can legitimately deal with the claims.

The English high court will deal specifically with the jurisdiction issue in relation to all the 40-plus claims brought by the 10 aircraft owners at a single hearing in February, following a ruling on Friday.

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The insurers proposed that the court deal with five to six test cases on the question of where the claims should be heard. However, the judge rejected this on several grounds.

[ Irish aircraft lessors take Russian losses claim to court ]

Reacting to Friday’s outcome, Carlyle Aviation Partners said the “international insurers have been in breach of their contractual obligations for many months and have failed to provide coverage for losses”.

The English court has amalgamated about 40 claims by lessors including AerCap, Carlyle, Avenue Capital, FTAI Aviation and Merx Aviation against insurers including AIG, Axa, Allianz, Liberty, Lloyd’s and others.

The dispute over where the case should be tried turns on the fact that the airlines that leased the aircraft insured them with Russian companies, which then reinsured these policies in London.

Both the insurance and reinsurance contracts also cover the lessors, which own the aircraft in the first place, and so carry the biggest risk should the planes be lost.

Insurers say that as the original contracts were agreed in Russia, that country’s courts should adjudicate on any disputes. The aircraft owners maintain this is an attempt to avoid paying out on legitimate insurance claims.