Qatar Airways Sues Airbus in A350 Surface Defect Dispute
21 Dicembre 2021 - 8:40AM
Dow Jones News
By Olivia Bugault
Qatar Airways said late Monday it has filed legal proceedings
against European plane maker Airbus SE related to fuselage surface
degradation on some of its A350 widebody jets.
Qatar Airways said it has so far grounded 21 A350 jets because
of the issue, which couldn't be solved through discussions between
the two companies.
In August, the flag carrier said it had to ground 13 A350s at
the instruction of its regulators because of the surface and paint
damages that could pose safety issues.
The airline is suing Airbus in the technology and construction
division of the High Court in London, it said.
"We have sadly failed in all our attempts to reach a
constructive solution with Airbus in relation to the accelerated
surface degradation condition adversely impacting the Airbus A350
aircraft," the carrier said. "Qatar Airways has therefore been left
with no alternative but to seek a rapid resolution of this dispute
via the courts."
The aerospace giant acknowledged in a statement late Monday that
it has received a formal legal claim from the Qatari airline, and
said it intends to "vigorously defend its position."
Earlier this month, the plane maker--which doesn't dispute the
existence of surface degradation on some A350 aircraft--said the
issue has no effect on its fleet's airworthiness, a finding that it
said was confirmed by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency. At
the time, Airbus also said it was seeking an independent legal
assessment in the face of what it called "mischaracterization of
nonstructural surface degradation on its fleet of A350 aircraft by
one of its customers."
Write to Olivia Bugault at olivia.bugault@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 21, 2021 02:25 ET (07:25 GMT)
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