Qatar Airways Releases Footage on Airbus A350 Issue
Qatar Airways Releases Footage on Airbus A350 Issue

Qatar Airways Releases Footage on Airbus A350 Issue

Qatar Airways has issued a press statement that On 20 January 2022, through the legal proceedings against Airbus in the Technology & Construction division of the High Court in England, sought an expedited hearing of a preliminary issue to address serious and legitimate safety concerns regarding the surface degradation condition adversely impacting their Airbus A350 fleet which has resulted so far in 21 Airbus A350 aircraft being grounded. 

Qatar Airways mentioned in the video that these defects are not superficial and one of the defects causes the aircraft’s lightning protection system to be exposed and damaged, another defect leaves the underlying composite structure exposed to moisture and ultraviolet light, and other defects include cracking in the composite and damage around a high percentage of rivets on the aircraft fuselage.

Qatar Airways has issued a statement below:

Qatar Airways strongly believe that Airbus must undertake a thorough investigation of this condition to conclusively establish its full root cause in order to establish whether any proposed repair solution will rectify the underlying condition and ensure no risk to the continued airworthiness of the aircraft.

Airbus has responded by seeking to cancel an entirely separate contract for the delivery of 50 A321 Neo aircraft. We confirm that we are adhering to all of our obligations under all applicable contracts. It is therefore a matter of considerable regret and frustration that Airbus has taken the apparent decision to expand and escalate this dispute. We continue to urge Airbus to undertake a satisfactory root cause analysis into the cause of the defects, as it is required to do. Qatar Airways remains prepared to help with the root cause analysis however it can. In the meantime, we will continue to robustly defend our position in the legal proceedings.


Qatar Airways Releases Footage on Airbus A350 Issue
Source: Qatar Airways video
a hole in a white surface
Source: Qatar Airways video

Airbus Revokes Qatar Airways A321neo Order

Airbus on Thursday raised the stakes in a dispute with Qatar Airways over grounded and undelivered A350 jets by announcing it had revoked a separate contract for 50 smaller A321neo jets the airline plans to use for new routes.

"We confirm we did terminate the contract for 50 A321s with Qatar Airways in accordance with our rights," an Airbus spokesman said.

Qatar Airways is seeking approximately $600 million in compensation over the grounded A350s in the fleet.