EasyJet faces $72 million lawsuit over stranded Airbus planes, FT reports

Sept 8 (Reuters) - British budget airline easyJet is being sued for at least $72 million by an Irish unit of Russian state-owned aircraft lessor GTLK over allegations it unlawfully abandoned six Airbus planes after terminating their leases following sanctions, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday.

The lawsuit, filed in London's High Court by STLC Europe Eight, a unit of GTLK Europe, alleges easyJet left leased Airbus jets in Madrid and Cyprus in 2022 without maintenance while airport storage charges continued to accrue.

According to the claim, the carrier leased the aircraft from STLC and notified the lessor in April 2022 that it was terminating the leases because EU sanctions prevented it from maintaining or repairing the jets.

STLC argues the sanctions did not apply because the aircraft remained outside Russia and the leasing entity was based in Ireland, the report added.

Three jets at Cyprus' Larnaca International Airport were eventually recovered and sold, but fetched at least $32.5 million less than expected because of their poor condition. The remaining three aircraft in Madrid have yet to be sold, according to the report.

An easyJet spokesperson said the airline intends to defend the claim in full and declined to comment further on the ongoing litigation. GTLK did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment.

(Reporting by Rishab Shaju and Sruthi Narasimha Chari in Bengaluru; Editing by Diti Pujara and Tasim Zahid)