Days before the International Air Transport Association (IATA) meeting in Doha on Sunday, the largest aviation safety authority in Europe announced that it had not seen any evidence that corrosion of the paint or surface of the A350 aircraft, which is the focus of a legal dispute between Airbus and Qatar Airways, is a safety problem.
The two companies had entered into a dispute over the airworthiness of the latest European long-range plane to fly after damage to its outer protective surface revealed a damaged layer of lightning protection, and prompted Qatar to ground more than 20 planes.
Airbus, which is backed by the European Union’s Aviation Safety Agency, has acknowledged the existence of quality defects in aircraft with many airlines, but denies that these problems amount to a safety risk, stressing that there is adequate back-up lightning protection.
Qatar Airways, backed by national regulators who ordered the planes to be taken out of service as the problem arose, stresses that the impact on safety cannot be properly perceived before Airbus delivers deeper technical analysis.
In an unprecedented legal battle in London, the Qatari airline is suing Airbus to claim more than $1billion, with the value of claims rising by $4 million a day.
European Union Aviation Safety Agency director Patrick Key defended the agency’s position on the A350 when asked during a visit to the United States whether the plane’s safety was still guaranteed. “We have examined the aircraft. We have not seen any damage that might involve safety issues,” he told reporters on the sidelines of an air safety conference in Washington.
In a statement issued about two weeks ago, Qatar Airways said that it believed that the impact of the situation on the safety of the damaged aircraft could not be proven until after a thorough investigation and finding the root cause fully and conclusively.
Unless a settlement is reached, the two sides are heading to a possible trial in a London court over a period of three months, starting in June 2023.
The dispute between Qatar Airways and “Airbus” will be a major issue in the meeting of the General Assembly of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) in its 78th edition and the World Air Transport Summit, hosted by Qatar Airways in the capital, Doha, between 19 and 21 June this year.
The event will be attended by Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury. It will also be attended by the president of the International Air Transport Association, Willie Walsh, who warned last year that “manufacturers should not take advantage of their position in the market,” describing Airbus’ decision to terminate Qatar’s contract to buy 50 A321neo aircraft as “unprecedented and worrisome.”
Qatar Airways had asked a London court to issue an injunction to prevent Airbus from canceling the contract for 50 A321neo single-aisle aircraft, worth more than $6 billion. But the judge refused.
