The plane manufacturer had terminated a $6 billion worth contract with the Qatari airline.
Airbus has revoked Qatar Airways’ order for two A350-1000 jets in the latest escalation of the ongoing dispute between the two entities.
According to Reuters, the planemaker accused Qatar Airways of refusing to take the two jets off the tarmac in Toulouse, in a January UK court filing. The airline denied those accusations.
Qatar Airways and Airbus have yet to respond to Doha News’ request for a comment.
The national carrier and manufacturer have been locked in a row since last year over the erosion of paint over the lighting protection on 21 airplanes. The airplanes in question remain grounded since last year as per the decision of the Qatar Civil Aviation Authority (QCAA).
The European plane manufacturer maintains that the flaw does not pose a safety risk.
Citing a lack of response over the defect, the Qatari flag carrier turned to the High Court in London last December. Qatar Airways demanded $618 million in contractual compensation from Airbus.
In turn, Airbus terminated a contract with Qatar Airways for 50 smaller A321neo jets in January, whilst claiming that the airline “sought to engineer or has acquiesced”. Such move has been described as “rare” in the aviation industry.
With the grounded jets representing 40% of Qatar Airways’ A350 fleets, the airline went on to ink a major $34 billion deal with Airbus’ competitor, Boeing.
The deal was signed during a White House ceremony in Washington, where Qatar Airways secured an order for 50 Boeing 737 Max 10 jets, the largest model in the Max family.
Qatar Airways also became Boeing’s launch customer for a freighter version of Boeing’s future flagship jet, the 777X.
The cancellation of orders from Qatar Airways impacted Airbus’ plane orders, which witnessed a drop of 16 aircrafts by the end of January, 2022.
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