Russian plane full of passengers seized; An arrest warrant has been issued for plane

Russian plane full of passengers seized; An arrest warrant has been issued for plane

According to the local newspaper "News First", the Sri Lankan authorities landed a Russian civilian plane belonging to the company "Aeroflot" and issued a warrant for the arrest of the plane.

The High Commercial Court in Colombo has reportedly issued an arrest warrant following an appeal filed by the Irish company Selective Aviation Trading Limited, which is linked to the aircraft lessor GECAS.

After the western countries imposed sanctions on Russia, the tenants of the plane asked Moscow to return the rented planes for fear of secondary sanctions, since the restrictions forbade them financial relations with Russian air carriers, reports Russia Today.

Russia, however, kept most of those planes, claiming that the return of the aircraft would mean a violation of the signed agreements. Russia has also started registering planes in its country so that they can continue working, and according to the Airfleets portal, the aircraft detained in Sri Lanka received Russian registration at the end of April, and before that it was registered in Bermuda.

"Aeroflot" announced that the hearing on the release of the aircraft is scheduled for June 8. Russian tour operator "Intourist" told reporters that people who were waiting to fly home with a detained plane were accommodated in a nearby hotel.

EU sanctions imposed in February banned the delivery of civilian planes and spare parts to Russia, as well as their maintenance and insurance. In addition, the sanctions obliged the landlords to terminate the existing contracts with Russian airlines, as RT recalls.