Air Berlin liquidator sues Etihad Airways for $2.2bn

The liquidator winding up defunct Air Berlin is suing major shareholder Etihad Airways for compensation
Etihad had owned 29.2 percent of Air Berlin since 2011.

The liquidator winding up defunct Air Berlin is suing major shareholder Etihad Airways for compensation of up to two billion euros ($2.26 billion), a court in the German capital said Friday.

Administrator Lucas Floether has asked judges to award the former operator 500 million euros and a ruling that further compensation is required, with the court placing a provisional value of up to two billion euros on the case, the Berlin regional court said in a statement.

Floether says Etihad went back on an April 2017 agreement to support Air Berlin for the following 18 months.

In the event, the Emirati group withdrew its support in August last year, prompting Germany's second-largest airline to go bust.

Etihad had owned 29.2 percent of Air Berlin since 2011.

After climbing aboard the red-and-white liveried operator, Etihad bailed it out for several years as it battled its major rival Lufthansa.