As the ongoing legal battle between two aviation powerhouses continues, Qatar Airways has disputed Airbus’ claim for $220million for refusing to accept delivery of two A350 aircraft.
The saga began earlier this year when Qatar Airways filed a claim against Airbus for $600million, citing surface paint issues on its A350 aircraft that it claimed could leave the aircraft at risk of damage from a lightning strike, something that the European aircraft manufacturer denies.
Airbus subsequently filed a claim against Qatar Airways for $220million in compensation for refusing to accept two A350 aircraft that were ready to be delivered. It also canceled a separate order that the airline had made for 50 A321neos.
Qatar Airways is now disputing this demand for $220million, stating that it has not broken its contract. The airline also claims that Airbus has not provided detail as to how it arrived at that figure.
Qatar Airways has now grounded 22 Airbus A350 aircraft. Photo: Airbus
The root cause of the dispute
Qatar Airways maintains that a number of its A350s have suffered surface paint flaws and damage to the anti-lightning mesh. It alleges that this could leave the aircraft vulnerable to damage in the event of a lightning strike.
Airbus has reiterated that the aircraft are safe, and this has been backed up by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).
However Qatar Airways has claimed that EASA has not undertaken an “extensive analysis” of the problem, and on the instruction of the country’s aviation body has grounded 22 of its 53 A350 aircraft.
How widespread is the issue?
According to a report by Reuters, several other carriers have also experienced similar issues with their A350s, including Etihad and Air France. Earlier this month,…