According to recently disclosed court documents, Qatar Airways is claiming compensation of more than $600 million from Airbus for the painting issues of the A350.
Based on a Reuters report, the Persian Gulf-based airline will also ask the British judges hearing the case to order Airbus to halt deliveries of the model until what the airline describes as «a design defect» is fixed. Airbus, for its part, states that the defect is only cosmetic
The airline and the manufacturer have been entangled for months in a dispute over alleged damage to the fuselage of Airbus’ newest model. Among others, the problems allegedly include blistered paint, broken window frames, cracked areas near the rivets and erosion of the lightning protection layer (included because the fuselage, being made of carbon fiber, would not dissipate lightning strikes like a conventional metal fuselage).
Qatar Airways stated that the Qatar Civil Aviation Authority (QCAA), the national regulatory body, has ordered it to stop operating 21 of its 53 A350s, as the model’s airworthiness would be at risk. Airbus, for its part, has questioned the QCAA’s independence.
Documents filed with a London court, where Qatar decided to sue Airbus in December, state that the airline is claiming $618 million in compensation from Airbus for the partial grounding of the fleet. In addition, the carrier is demanding $4 million for each day the aircraft remain out of service.
See also: A350: Qatar Airways files lawsuit against Airbus
The aircraft, which was to be repainted in the colors of the 2022 World Cup, to be held in Qatar at the end of the year, has been parked in France for a year and needs 980 patches to be repaired. That aircraft has been sitting in France for a year and is in need of 980 repair patches.
Airbus said it knows the source cause of the problem and would «deny in its totality» the airline’s claim, noting that Qatar «tries to erroneously qualify the problems» as a safety issue when this is only an aesthetic one. «Airbus reaffirms that there is no airworthiness issue.»
