Insight: when even the judge gets frustrated with the Airbus-Qatar case

Frustration and irritation over how Airbus and Qatar Airways are failing to cooperate on a solution to their legal dispute over the Airbus A350 paint quality have reached the London High Court. In the latest case management conference last Thursday, Justice Waksman no longer was hiding his personal annoyance when using the word “absurd” to qualify certain matters. Insight: when even the judge gets frustrated with the Airbus-Qatar case.

With five months to go until the High Court is supposed to handle Qatar Airways’ lawsuit against Airbus in a split case (quantum claims, including that for the terminated A321neo order, and liability), the two parties are continuously failing to find a way toward a resolution. Case management conference after case management conference, the two continue to demand additional documentation, but each time accuses the other of obstruction by failing to do so. “Qatar’s disclosure remains fiddled with significant gaps. (…) Airbus

has identified specific gaps at critical points in the story”, Airbus said on Thursday.

The issue discussed on Thursday was mainly about information and communication, like emails and app conversations, of Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker. Already in December, Airbus’ solicitors demanded the disclosure of Al Baker’s emails to the court to get a better understanding of how he has been involved in the decision by the Qatar Civil Aviation Administration (QCAA) to initially ground thirteen A350s on June 17, 2021. This number has grown to 29.