Court allows questions over Fiji Airways aircraft lease in pilot injury case

A High Court in Fiji allowed parts of a pilot’s dispute against Fiji Airways to proceed, ruling that he can question the airline about the aircraft lease tied to an in-flight pressurisation incident. The decision, delivered on 24 June 2026 by Acting Master Liyanage Kashyapa Wickramasekara, said the lease agreement is directly relevant to First Officer Jitendra Vishal Maharaj’s negligence claim. Maharaj alleges serious barotrauma, hearing loss, and other medical complications after a pressurisation failure on a Fiji Airways aircraft in October 2017. Fiji Airways opposed questions about the lease, arguing it was commercially confidential, but the court rejected that position, saying the document could help determine whether the airline had actual or constructive notice of defects and met its duty of care. While several proposed questions were excluded for being ambiguous or irrelevant, many were allowed, and confidentiality issues can be handled during discovery. The ruling does not decide liability.