Qatar Airways grounds Airbus jets because of worries over fuselage

Qatar Airways has grounded 13 A350s on the orders of its regulator, saying it will refuse to receive any more of the passenger jets until Airbus resolves what the Gulf carrier described as “accelerated” degrading of the fuselage. The move is the latest instalment of a public spat rumbling between the long-haul specialist and the European manufacturer, which has led to Qatar Airways threatening to halt deliveries unless Airbus fixes the alleged deterioration of the fuselage’s surface underneath the paint. “With this latest development, we sincerely expect that Airbus treats this matter with the proper attention that it requires,” said CE Akbar Al Baker. “Qatar Airways expects Airbus to have established the root cause and permanently corrected the underlying condition to the satisfaction of Qatar Airways and our regulator before we take delivery of any further A350 aircraft,” he added. Airbus declined to comment on “confidential” discussions with its customers. But one person briefed on the matter said the aircraft maker had been investigating surface paint of some in-service A350s, resulting in a thorough assessment shared with the EU’s civil aviation regulator. “It was demonstrated that there is no airworthiness impact on the fleet, allowing for continued operations,” the person added. “No additional inspections are required beyond existing scheduled maintenance.” Qatar Airways said it was returning some of its A330 fleet into service to replace the grounded jets and was also considering other solutions to minimise disruption.<br/>