The first few weeks of 2023 promise to be busy ones for those involved in the legal dispute between Airbus and Qatar Airways over the A350 paint quality issue. Technical experts are to inspect aircraft in Doha and prepare technical reports, while Justice Waksman will travel to Toulouse and Doha and see the aircraft for himself. On January 11, a summit in Doha between Airbus and the regulatory agency QCAA should help tidy the waters in this case. Insight: the ever-deepening feud between Airbus and Qatar Airways.
But as the December 16 hearing at the London High Court confirmed, this case is full of reciprocal mistrust and suspicion. Don’t expect Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury and Qatar Airways’ Akbar Al Baker to get cozy again anytime soon. Let’s zoom in on the conflict.
The issue at stake since early 2021 is the paint quality of the Airbus
A350. Paint peeling on top of the fuselage and wings exposes the layer underneath, causing corrosion to the composite structure, titanium, and copper foil that is used as lightning protection. Qatar Airways and the Qatar Civil Aviation Authority (QCAA) claim this condition poses a safety and airworthiness problem. In August 2021, the QCAA required the grounding of initially thirteen A350-900s and -1000s, but this number has grown to 29. Airbus and the European regulatory agency EASA say that the issue is not affecting the safety and airworthiness of the aircraft and the A350s could be repainted and fixed.
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