Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia) is suing lessor Hi Fly for flying an empty aircraft with the Saudia logo to an airport in Israel, an image of which was circulated on social media.
According to Saudia, Hi Fly “committed a blatant violation of its contract” with the airline as Hi Fly needed to obtain written approval over where its aircraft landed or conducted maintenance since it needs to be in a country that shares diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia.
“Saudia has notified [Hi] Fly of nullifying the contract signed between the two parties and now it is in the process of taking the legal action against the contract violator.”
The aircraft was under Hi Fly’s management when it left Saudi Arabia to fly to Brussels for routine maintenance. Saudia stated that it was not informed in advance of Hi Fly’s decision to land in Israel.