Lessors raise concerns over Norwegian aircraft returns

Law firms representing Norwegian’s lessors and creditors have raised concerns over the airline’s bid to repudiate 36 aircraft leases under its restructuring process. In a hearing on 4 February at the Dublin High Court, as part of Norwegian’s Irish examinership process, Lisa Smyth from McCann Fitzgerald – representing companies including SMBC Aviation Capital and FPG Amentum – raised concerns over the “deluge” of paperwork that had “bombarded” creditors as part of the repudiation process. She cites multiple applications received from Norwegian and its subsidiaries in relation to the return of 36 aircraft to their owners, the most recent being submitted on 3 February, leaving little time to respond. Lessors, she argues, must not be “blindsided” in relation to the repudiation applications and “funnelled into an unworkable timetable”. Smyth says lessors are not asking for time for no reason, but are dealing with “extremely complex assets”, in combination with challenges such as closed borders. Smyth suggests there area “real practical issues” with how the aircraft under question could be returned, and questions whether the E163m ($192m) Norwegian will have at the end of March is sufficient to ensure the safe redelivery of those aircraft if a repudiation order were made by the court.<br/>