Qatar Airways Sues Airbus in A350 Jet Damage Dispute

Qatar Airways Sues Airbus in A350 Jet Damage Dispute
An undated image shows what appears to be paint peeling, cracking and exposed expanded copper foil (ECF) on the fuselage of a Qatar Airways A350 aircraft grounded by the Qatari regulator. Reuters File Photo
Reuters
Updated:

PARIS—Qatar Airways said on Monday it had started proceedings in a UK court against planemaker Airbus in a bid to resolve a dispute over skin flaws on A350 passenger jets, bringing the two sides closer to a rare legal showdown over aviation safety.

The companies have been locked in a row for months over damage, including blistered paint and corrosion to a sub-layer of lightning protection, which Qatar Airways says has now led to the grounding of 21 A350 jets by its domestic regulator.