A UK court has ordered a worldwide freeze on assets belonging to Vietnamese budget airline VietJet Aviation as an aircraft financing company seeks to recover approximately US$250 million in unpaid judgments arising from a dispute over four Airbus A321 aircraft.
The Commercial Court in London granted the order on October 15 after finding sufficient evidence of a risk that the airline could move assets beyond the reach of its creditors.
The decision follows years of litigation between VietJet and FW Aviation (Holdings) 1 Limited (FWA), a Jersey-registered aircraft leasing company backed by UK investment firm FitzWalter Capital.
According to the published court judgment, the dispute concerns four Airbus A321 aircraft leased to VietJet under financing arrangements dating back to 2018 and 2019.
The leases were terminated in October 2021, prompting legal proceedings over unpaid rent and termination payments. Although FWA recovered the aircraft by December 2022, VietJet remained liable for outstanding payments.
In April 2025, the airline was ordered to pay approximately US$182 million, plus interest and costs. Subsequent judgments increased the amount owed to around US$250 million, of which the airline had paid only US$2 million by the latest hearing.
The October ruling focused partly on financial arrangements between VietJet and Angelica Holding Limited, a related company incorporated in the Cayman Islands.
Under agreements examined by the court, VietJet Aviation had transferred substantially all the economic value of its future aircraft order book, valued as of December 2024, to Angelica.
Judge Pushpinder Singh Saini questioned what the airline would receive in return, describing the expected payments as “wholly illusory”.
He also raised concerns about evidence VietJet previously provided concerning its assets. Those findings contributed to his conclusion that a worldwide freezing order was necessary.
VietJet maintained that the arrangements were legitimate financing transactions conducted in the ordinary course of its business, rather than attempts to obstruct creditors.
The order to freeze Vietjet’s assets restricts the airline’s ability to deal with assets covered by the order. It does not mean its aircraft have been seized, its future orders cancelled or its flights grounded.
The decision follows a separate September 30 ruling supporting the appointment of receivers over certain assets held outside Vietnam. Lawyers representing FWA subsequently confirmed that a receivership order was also made on October 15.
For travellers in Thailand, the distinction is important. The proceedings name the Vietnamese company, rather than its Thai affiliate, Vietjet Thailand, and do not establish that flights operated by the Thai airline will be disrupted.
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The story UK court freeze VietJet’s global assets over $250m lease debt as seen on Thaiger News.