Europe based airplane manufacturer Airbus has revoked its entire outstanding order from Qatar Airways for A350 jets. With this Airbus has severed all remaining new jetliner business with the gulf carrier. Analysts call it a dramatic new twist to a safety and contractual dispute.
Qatar Airways sued Airbus over faulty design and later on half of the A350 fleet was grounded by Qatar aviation regulator. Furthermore, this airplane fleet was grounded over surface damage because of the paint used by Airbus. Qatar Airways refused later on to take delivery of more A350s. This led to legal case where Airbus was backed by European regulators against Qatari regulators and Airways.
Airbus has denied any safety risk so far with the aircraft A350. Airbus has also stopped the rest of the deal. This move has also severed all remaining jetliner business with Qatar Airways in the latest twist to safety and contractual dispute there. Qatar Airways was the first customer to introduce A350 to the world in 2015. It’s now suing Airbus for at least $1.4 billion after almost half of its A350 fleet was grounded by Qatar’s regulator over surface damage. Qatar airways have so far refused to take delivery of more A350s until it receives a better explanation on a long term fix for this damage issue.
Airbus on the other hand is backed by European regulators. The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) said that the surface damage issue posed no impact on the airworthiness of the aircraft. Airbus has acknowledged quality problems on jets but denied any safety risk.