KIEV, Aug 21 (AFP) - The 20-strong crew of a giant Ukrainian cargo plane grounded at Brussels over a money dispute with a Cyprus-based company emerged from the aircraft Saturday after three days camping aboard and checked into a hotel, Belgian media reported.
Belgian authorities ordered the Antonov-124 Ruslan to be seized after the company TMR Energy filed suit against Ukraine for nearly 50 million dollars.
The crew had stayed aboard since the Ruslan, one of the world's largest aircraft, was grounded Wednesday after the Cyprus-based offshore company TMR Energy made a court application.
They finally agreed to leave Saturday, Belgian television quoted the Brussels airport authority as saying.
After routine passport controls, they checked into a hotel in town pending their return to Ukraine either by regular passenger flight or aboard their aircraft if the dispute is speedily resolved.
TMR Energy has filed suit for 48.3 million dollars (39 million euros) against the Ukrainian state assets fund, for alleged violation of a contract dating back to 1993.
The plane belongs to the publicly owned Ukrainian planemaker Antonov Design Bureau. It had been chartered by the Belgian defence ministry and NATO to fly equipment to Kabul.
According to a lawyer for the owners, the Antonov company owns seven Ruslan aircraft, two of which have already been seized -- one at Brussels and the other in Canada -- following court applications by TMR Energy..
The Newfoundland High Court ordered the grounding of one last year at Goose Bay, Labrador, where it had landed with equipment for Italian military personnel on NATO exercises.