Lessor AerCap agrees settlement over Aeroflot jets stranded in Russia

The world’s largest aircraft lessor has agreed to settle an insurance claim over Russia’s refusal to return 17 jets leased to airline Aeroflot, a landmark agreement in a dispute over 400 Western planes stranded in the wake of the Ukraine invasion. Ireland-based AerCap in a stock market filing said it had received $645m from insurance company NSK in full settlement of insurance claims in relation to 17 aircraft and five spare engines leased to state-controlled airline Aeroflot and its subsidiary Rossiya. The planes would now become the property of Russian state-owned NSK. “We have released our claims against NSK, Aeroflot, Rossiya and their international reinsurers with respect to these aircraft and engines,” said AerCap, whose shares rose around 5% in premarket trading. Before last year’s invasion of Ukraine, Russia was a major market for aircraft lessors, which bought jets from Boeing and Airbus and leased them to Russian airlines. The invasion triggered Western sanctions that forced lessors to cancel hundreds of leases. Moscow then refused to allow the planes to leave. Aeroflot said that ownership of 18 aircraft and five engines had transferred to NSK following settlement with AerCap. It was not immediately clear why the number of aircraft differed from AerCap’s statement by one. “AerCap has terminated its claims against Russian parties both under insurance policies issued by Russian insurance companies and under leasing agreements,” Aeroflot said, adding that it is in talks with other lessors about settling claims. AerCap said it had secured permission from the US Treasury and Commerce departments to complete the deal, which it said was “consistent with other applicable sanctions regimes.”<br/>