Bankrupt airberlin administrator seeks billions in damages from Etihad

Bankrupt German carrier airberlin’s administrator is seeking damages of up to E2b from former majority shareholder Etihad Airways. A Berlin court revealed in a Dec. 14 statement that it had received a claim from airberlin’s creditors for damages against Etihad that could run to as much as E2b. The claim relates to a letter dated April 28, 2017, in which the administrator said Etihad had agreed to “provide airberlin with the necessary support for the next 18 months, in order to enable its subsidiary to meet its financial obligations.” The court’s statement said the administrator believed that, “contrary to this commitment, [Etihad] withdrew airberlin’s financial support in August 2017, with the result that airberlin had to file for bankruptcy.” While the initial claim is for E500m, the court said it had provisionally set a limit of E2b to settle the dispute because the administrator believed that Etihad was also “obliged to pay further [undisclosed] damages.” Etihad has vowed to fight the claim. A spokesperson for the carrier said: “We confirm that we have received a claim filed at the Berlin Regional Court by the insolvency administrator of airberlin. We believe that the claim is without merit and will defend ourselves vigorously against it. Furthermore, we will not comment publicly on this issue at this time.”<br/>