On Monday, SMBC Aviation Capital announced that it had received a cash insurance payout of $710 million for its aircraft previously leased to Aeroflot, Russia's state-owned airline.
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The settlement amount corresponds to the claim made by SMBC under Aeroflot's insurance for 16 aircraft and their engines. An additional insurance settlement has been finalized for one aircraft and its related engines managed by SMBC.
Before last year's invasion of Ukraine, Russia was a significant market for aircraft lessors, who purchased jets from Boeing and Airbus and leased them to airlines in the country. However, these planes are now stuck in Russia as Moscow has refused to release the jets following the cancellation of lease agreements by lessors in compliance with Western sanctions.
Aercap, the world's largest aircraft lessor, announced last month that it had agreed to settle an insurance claim over Russia's refusal to return 17 jets leased to Aeroflot. SMBC Aviation stated that it will continue its efforts to minimize its losses related to aircraft previously leased to Russian airlines.
