Encomm Aviation (Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta) has filed a USD160 million lawsuit in the UK High Court against BAe Systems, alleging the aerospace and defence giant breached its duty of care by abruptly withdrawing support for the BAe Advanced Turbo-Prop (BAe ATP) aircraft type, grounding its fleet and destroying its business.

In its filing on March 31, 2026, EnComm alleges BAE Systems unilaterally moved to surrender the ATP’s type certificate to the UK Civil Aviation Authority without adequate consultation, revoking the aircraft’s airworthiness and rendering its fleet effectively worthless beyond scrap value.

The airline says it was only informed after requesting confirmation of a public notice issued by BAE.

EnComm claims the decision ended its ability to operate the world's last remaining ATP fleet and left it exposed to contractual liabilities.

According to ch-aviation data, EnComm had a fleet of 10 aircraft, including eight BAe ATP(F) freighters and two passenger BAe ATPs.

The company transported more than 18,677 metric tonnes of humanitarian aid between March 2023 and September 2025 across Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Central African Republic, and Chad.

The lawsuit follows earlier claims that BAE had previously assured the carrier it would maintain support for the aircraft type as long as at least one ATP remained in service.

EnComm was unable to repay a USD16 million loan underwritten by Sweden’s Exportkreditnämnden (EKN) following BAe Systems' withdrawal of product support for the BAe ATP, effectively shutting down the Kenyan carrier’s operations.

BAe Systems has not publicly responded to the latest filing. A spokesperson told ch-aviation: "We do not comment on ongoing litigation."

The case follows earlier pre-action correspondence and builds on claims of negligent misrepresentation first raised by EnComm in late 2025, when it initially signalled damages of up to USD250 million linked to the same dispute.

According to the Lancashire Telegraph, BAe is understood to have made the move as it shifts its focus towards defence projects linked to NATO members' recent 5% increase in military spending, a rise which in the UK coincided with cuts to the international aid budget.

The London Commercial Court case is filed as: EnComm Limited (trading as EnComm Aviation) v BAE Systems (Operations), case number CL-2026-000203.