Authorities in France briefly seized a B737-800 belonging to Enter Air (E4, Warsaw Chopin) last week citing EUR1.103 million (USD1.242 million) worth of unpaid noise disturbance fines.

The French noise abatement authority (Autorité de Contrôle Des Nuisances Sonores Aéroportuaires - ACNUSA) said in a statement that the aircraft was grounded at Paris CDG for a total of five hours on August 10 until the penalties were settled.

The fines pertained to night-time flights operated between 22h00L and 05h00L with a total of eighty-three noise violations recorded between 2013 and 2014. ACNUSA says it was forced to take the legal route and secure a seizure order after the Polish carrier ignored repeated demands for payment.

Enter Air has meanwhile issued a statement claiming that it had settled the fines prior to the aircraft's seizure only for ACNUSA to go ahead with grounding order.

"The plane was detained for only a few hours, and after verification and confirmation of the payment, the plane was quickly released," it said adding that it has sought to have the fines reviewed by a French Court of Cassation.

According to ACNUSA, 159 airlines have received similar fines that they have yet to settle. As such, it has not ruled out engaging in similar legal action against them.