EasyJet is being sued for at least $72mn by an Irish unit of a Russian aircraft owner, whose liquidators claim the budget airline unlawfully abandoned six Airbus planes in a dispute over sanctions. The UK airline grounded the jets in Madrid and Cyprus in 2022 and left them without maintenance and running up airport storage charges, according to a legal complaint brought by a subsidiary of Russia’s state-owned State Transport Leasing Company (GTLK). The case at the High Court in London is the latest in a series of aviation claims stemming from sanctions imposed on Moscow after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

It is part of a multibillion-euro corporate wind-down of GTLK Europe, the Russian group’s Irish entity, which fell into liquidation in 2023 under the weight of sanctions. Liquidators are trying to claw back assets for creditors through a separate legal process in Ireland. EasyJet leased the six planes from STLC Europe Eight, a division of GTLK Europe that is bringing the claim.

The airline told STLC in April 2022 that it was terminating the leases after EU sanctions had left it unable to repair or maintain the planes, according to the lawsuit at the High Court in London. However, STLC’s lawyers argue that the UK company was not legally entitled to abruptly walk away and that it must pay what it owes. They contend the sanctions did not apply, in part because the aircraft were kept outside Russia and the leasing unit was based in Ireland.

EasyJet, which has yet to file its defence with the court, declined to comment other than to say it intended to defend the claim in full. The leasing company, represented by James Mac Donald KC and law firm Freshfields, said it was eventually able to take possession of the three planes left at Larnaca International airport in Cyprus and sell them, but their poor condition meant they fetched at least $32.5mn less than their expected value. The other three planes were left at Madrid airport and have yet to be sold.

STLC is claiming for outstanding rent and interest of at least $36.7mn, aircraft depreciation of at least $32.5mn and airport fees of €2.8mn. It said the final tally could be higher, in part as it had yet to quantify the loss on the Madrid aircraft. The case is part of a wider wave of litigation in the aviation-leasing sector following western sanctions on Russia, much of it highly complex and involving insurance and reinsurance.