KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian authorities on Friday have seized Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) Boeing 777 over being a defaulter of lease payment.
According to details, the plane was taken into custody on court’s order after it landed at Kuala Lumpur airport with passengers on board.
According to sources, the plane was taken into custody for non-payment of aircraft lease dues. The PIA had leased two aircraft, including the Boeing-777, from a Vietnamese company in 2015.
The aircraft’s 18-member staff also become stranded in Kuala Lumpur due to the seizure, and will now quarantine for 14 days as per protocols, the sources disclosed.
Meanwhile, the national flag carrier said that the PIA aircraft has been held back on the orders of a local court in Malaysia which, it argued, has taken a one-sided decision pertaining to a legal dispute between PIA and another party pending in a UK court.
“The passengers are being looked after and alternate arrangements for their travel have been finalised,” read a tweet shared by PIA on its official account.
