Menzies Aviation awarded multi-million-pound sum regarding Afghanistan dispute

Menzies Aviation says it has been awarded more than $26 million (£21.6m) in damages following a dispute regarding Afghanistan.

The Scottish-founded business, which says it is the world’s largest aviation services company, has announced that an International Chamber of Commerce Tribunal in London has ruled in its favour following the termination of its subsidiary’s aviation services concession by the Government of Afghanistan in 2020. The Tribunal has awarded NAS Afghanistan (NAS) – now part of the Menzies Aviation group – around $26m plus interest, the company added.

NAS had been providing ground services at Kabul, Kandahar and Herat international airports in Afghanistan since 2013 by virtue of a contract awarded following an open tender process, Menzies Aviation also said. It continued: “At all times NAS fulfilled its contractual obligations having invested more than $7m, bringing in state-of-the-art systems and equipment thus significantly raising the operating standards and service levels within each airport of operation."

Menzies Aviation added that in October 2019, the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Ariana Afghan Airlines and the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation “expropriated NAS’ operations in Afghanistan and replaced it with a new operator… NAS suffered considerable losses and therefore sought retribution as available under the legally binding contract entered into by all parties”.

'We will always take the necessary steps to protect our staff and business interests,' says Menzies Aviation. Picture: contributed.

Hassan El-Houry, chairman of Menzies Aviation, said: “We will always take the necessary steps to protect our staff and business interests.”

The firm can trace its roots back to 1833 when John Menzies opened a bookshop in Edinburgh, also selling The Scotsman newspaper. It was this year taken over by supply-chain services and infrastructure group Agility, which merged it with its NAS business.