After returning to the skies in December and settling one of its several lawsuits this month, embattled U.S.-based all-cargo carrier Centurion Cargo has been hit with yet another lawsuit – this time from its current landlord, Aero Miami III, calling for the airline to be evicted from its facility at Miami International Airport.
On Jan. 15, Centurion resolved a 2014 suit with aircraft lessor AWAS, which had claimed that Centurion and its sister airline, SkyLease Cargo, had been delinquent on more than US$10 million in lease payments to AWAS subsidiary Pegasus Aviation Finance Co., and sought to repossess five aircraft operated by Centurion and SkyLease. Both parties settled out of court, and Centurion retained the aircraft.
However, a recent story from the South Florida Business Journal reported that, on the same day of the AWAS settlement, Aero Miami filed suit against Centurion for outstanding rent payments on the carrier’s 800,000-square-foot facility. Centurion denies the claim, citing an outstanding 2013 case that it had filed against Aero Miami for allegedly overcharging for services and for $9 million in construction defects at the facility.
The first hearing in Aero Miami’s eviction case is set for Tuesday, Feb. 3, in Miami-Dade County Circuit Court.
These are not the only legal troubles affecting Centurion. In mid-2014, Centurion’s fleet of MD-11Fs had been grounded following a series of lawsuits from creditors claiming they had not been paid. In December 2014, the carrier resumed some charter flights to destinations in Latin America. Next month, despite the continuing legal actions, Centurion said it is planning to relaunch its scheduled 747-400F Miami-Amsterdam service, to be operated by SkyLease.
Today, Centurion operates three MD-11Fs, while Sky Lease operates three 747-400ERFs and a 747-400F.