Aviation

We stand out as one of the fastest-developing, specialist aviation legal teams. We deliver tailored solutions to clients including airlines, general aviation operators, airports, MROs, ground handling companies, aviation security companies, and product manufacturers in both the civilian and defence spheres. Our focus includes drones, gyrocopters, gliders, hot air balloons, rotor and fixed-wing aircraft, executive jets, and wide-body airline operations.

As you would expect from a firm known for its insurance work, our aviation lawyers are also focused on providing aviation advice to the insurance industry. We act for insurers, reinsurers, and assist brokers where needed – including with claims defence and coverage work and acting on subrogation matters.

Our areas of expertise include:

• Airline – volume passenger, baggage and cargo claims, third party damage, ground collisions, runway incursions, bird strikes, and aircraft detention, as well as major loss work across a variety of airlines and aircraft, including all risk advice, war risk advice, and pre-loss risk management advice direct to airlines.
• General aviation – working closely with brokers, local adjusters, accident investigators, and relevant authorities on claims involving fixed and rotor-wing aircraft, from smaller airline-style operations and business and executive jets to gliders, balloons, paragliders, and even gyrocopters.
• Airport and MRO – advising on and defending a range of claims against airport operators, MRO advice (including ground handling losses and maintenance exposures and shortcomings) and guiding on security-related issues to both airports and security providers.
• Product liability – advising from a claimant (subrogation) and defence perspective.
• Coverage – advising on aviation insurance clauses and policy wording, including coverage matters involving both all risk and war risk cover, as well as primary and reinsurance issues.
• Space – advising on contracting principles, regulation of the industry and ITAR, as well as delivering risk management advice on satellite procurement, launch services and related contracts.
• Drones – advising upon the liability and defence issues arising from actual drone-related losses.
• Subrogation – commercial, cost-effective and proportionate advice on pursuing claims, as well as strategic ongoing advice.

Featured experience

• Acting for reinsurers in relation to the crash of LaMia flight 2933 in November 2016 near Medellin, Colombia, whilst transporting the Chapecoense football club and their entourage from Bolivia to Colombia, where the team was due to play in the 2016 Copa Sudamericana finals.
• Advising reinsurers in respect of aircraft lessor claims arising from the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
• Providing advice to major global shippers and their insurers on the carriage of dangerous goods by air and through multi-modal transport.
• Acting on behalf of aviation insurers and airlines in relation to damage to an aircraft in Lithuania at an MRO facility during scheduled repair.
• Advising satellite operators at the time of purchase of launch/early life insurance with regard to risk exposures under satellite procurement contracts and the launch services contract; drafting appropriate change notices; coordination with client insurance broker in review of proposed policy wordings.
• Acting for a helicopter product manufacturer and aviation insurers in providing defence support and claims handling advice following the loss of a helicopter in an air accident off the coast of Brazil resulting in multi-jurisdictional claims.
• Acting for a commercial airline pilot and his insurers in relation to a national civil aviation regulatory investigation into a prolonged loss of communications event occurring over German airspace in the operation of a commercial passenger aircraft on an international flight.
• Acting for corporates and individuals in relation to UK Civil Aviation Authority regulatory investigations into “grey” air charter flight operations and possible breach of Air Navigation Order provisions.
• Acting for a manufacturer of aviation equipment for military use in relation to corporate restructuring, provision of risk management advice in relation to the use of corporate jets and other instructions.