As of now, there are no visible signs of a settlement between Qatar Airways and Airbus.
The European Union’s top safety regulator in the aviation industry said on Tuesday said it found “no evidence” that paint or surface erosion on A350 long-haul jets pose safety concerns, amid an ongoing legal battle between Qatar Airways and Airbus.
Airbus, backed by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), has “acknowledged” quality flaws with the planes in several airlines but rejects that the issues constitute safety risk, arguing that there is sufficient backup lightning protection, Reuters reported.
Described as an “exceptionally rare” public conflict in the aviation industry, the ordeal ignited in late 2020 when Qatar Airways discovered paint erosion on 21 aircrafts as well as deterioration in the anti-lightning protection on long-haul jets.
The Gulf carrier is suing the European plane manufacturer in a UK court for $1 billion in damages upon grounding more than 20 out of 53 of its flawed A350s, with the value of the carrier’s claim rising by $4 million per day.
Qatar Airways says the damages raise safety concerns, which Airbus and European regulators deny and insist damages do not pose a hazardous risk.
With its claims backed by its own national regulator, Qatar Airways, which has ordered the A350s to be taken out of service, insists that the magnitude of safety cannot be properly understood until Airbus provides “deeper technical analysis.”
On Tuesday, the head of EASA, while on a visit to the United States, defended the agency’s stance on the A350 dispute upon being asked whether the long-haul jets’ safety remained intact.
“We have inspected the airplane. We saw no damage which could imply safety issues,” the agency’s executive director Patrick Ky told reporters on the sidelines of an air safety conference in Washington, as per Reuter’s reports.
Other airlines voice concerns
The immediate dispute between Airbus and Qatar…