Cyprus Airways warns of legal action against Pratt & Whitney over grounded A220s

Cyprus Airways may take legal action against engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney if an agreement is not reached soon regarding the prolonged grounding of its A220 fleet due to the geared turbofan (GTF) engine issues.

The airline's CEO Thanos Pascalis said in an interview with Airline Economics that it is still in negotiations with Pratt & Whitney regarding the issue. 

The company currently has three A220s. Two are leased from Air Lease Corporation and the latest was received in September 2024 from Azorra. Azorra will deliver the fourth A220 next month, the Cyprus Airways chief said. 

“As we speak, two out of our three A220s are grounded, which is obviously an issue,” said Pascalis. He said the company is attempting to restore one, but will be rendered AOG again “in a couple of months” because of the other engine. 

The company is growing frustrated with the “recurring and ongoing problem” with Pratt & Whitney with next month marking one year since the first grounding for the airline. “We have no choice," continued Pascalis. “If we pass the one year mark since the grounding, we will have to initiate proceedings.”

“We've appointed lawyers, but we haven't given them the go ahead for litigation yet,” said Pascalis. He said that if the airline cannot reach an agreement that is “amicable for both parties” then it will have to pursue litigation. 

The airline had wet leased one A319 aircraft from Fly Air 41 in summer last year in response to the engine issues. 

“We had to do that in summer 2024, which caused a huge impact on our operations and our brand name,” he added. “We have stopped doing this and we don't want to have to do it this summer. This is why we're pushing for a resolution.”

He added that the company's two A320 — powered by CFM56 engines —  are “great aircraft”. The company had wet leased the two aircraft to neighbouring Aegean Airlines throughout 2024. The Athens-based carrier was contending with its own issues with Pratt & Whitney, having to ground some of its A320neo aircraft due to inspections of the GTF engines. 

Cyprus Airways was impacted by the day-long strike by air traffic controllers (ATC) in Greece on February 28, 2025. The carrier had to cancel all of its flights to the Greek capital that Friday ahead of a public holiday the following Monday. 

Airline Economics has contacted Pratt & Whitney for comment.