Despite the proverbial adage that lightning never strikes the same place twice, it is equally unusual and almost unheard of for the same aircraft to be impounded by the same nation again. After being impounded in Malaysia twice in less than three years, one specific widebody operated by Pakistan International Airlines has experienced this odd fate.
The initial seizure happened two years ago.
The widebody in question is a Boeing 777-200ER with the registration AP-BMH. Previously, it was registered VN-A150 and flew for Vietnam Airlines from December 2005 until October 2015 before being leased out and adding to Pakistan International Airlines’ fleet a few months later. The aircraft carried out a regularly scheduled trip, PK 894, from Islamabad International Airport to Kuala Lumpur International Airport just over two years ago, on January 2021.
Unfortunately, after Malaysian authorities conducted a seizure after all passengers had boarded, the aircraft was unable to run the regularly scheduled flight service home.
At that time, the local authorities acknowledged that a Malaysian court had granted them the go-ahead to confiscate the Boeing 777 due to Pakistan International Airlines’ failure to make timely payments on its aircraft leasing obligations to Dublin-based lessor Peregrine Aviation Charlie Limited.
The Pakistani flag airline allegedly ceased making payments in July 2020, according to the lease business. It said that a case had been brought against PIA in London High Court in October for failing to make a $14 million leasing payment that had been overdue for six months. Pakistan International Airlines retaliated by claiming that overhead fees ought to have been decreased given how the pandemic affected the aviation sector.
Peregrine Aviation Charlie Limited kept a close eye on the actions of the flag carrier without any cooperative solutions or payments. Additionally, the aircraft lessor requested that the Malaysian court confiscate the aircraft in accordance with international civil aviation leasing laws after learning of PK 895’s planned landing in Malaysia. The Kuala Lumpur High Court only freed the vehicle after a two-week period of impoundment during which both parties claimed to have reached an amicable resolution.
Two years later, I had another seizure.
Unfortunately, luck is not on the side of Pakistan International Airlines and AP-BMH as the widebody was once more confiscated on May 29. And by chance, AP-BMH, which was flying under the name PK 894, was detained by Malaysian officials upon arrival in Kuala Lumpur for the exact same reason. However, this time, the airline’s failure to pay its debts is worth only roughly $4 million.
Whether the outstanding lease payments were owing to the same aircraft lessor as before or to a different party is still unknown. It is also unclear whether this impasse can be resolved soon or if it will take many days, as it did previously. Pakistan International Airlines has not yet provided a remark as of the time of writing.
What is definite, however, is that another Boeing 777-200ER was dispatched to transport the stranded passengers and crew back in response to the impounding of AP-BMH. The older widebody, registered AP-BGK, returned to Islamabad at around 7:56, and has since been temporarily deployed to run the Islamabad-Kuala Lumpur route planned for June 1st.
Pakistan International Airlines is still having financial difficulties in the post-pandemic environment, as seen by this most recent seizure. As having a Boeing 777 held in a foreign nation for any length of time will only exacerbate the airline’s problems, it is hoped that the new seizure can be resolved more quickly than the last incident.
