Qatar Airways Grounds 13 Airbus A350 Aircraft

Qatar Airways has grounded 13 Airbus A350 aircraft over concerns about the accelerated rate at which the fuselage surface below the paint seems to be degrading.

The aircraft have been grounded following the explicit written instruction of Qatar Airways' regulator.

The thirteen aircraft have been removed from service until such time as the root cause can be established and a satisfactory solution made available to permanently correct the underlying condition.

The airline has already returned its A330 fleet into service with immediate effect in an attempt to offset some of the impact of the grounded A350 aircraft. It is also looking at other solutions too.

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, Mr. Akbar Al Baker, said, “With this latest development, we sincerely expect that Airbus treats this matter with the proper attention that it requires. Qatar Airways will not accept anything other than aircraft that continue to offer its customers the highest possible standard of safety and the best travel experience that they deserve. 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.”

In addition to the airline’s focus on protecting its reputation for offering the highest levels of customer experience, Qatar Airways is cooperating with all the leasing companies affected by this A350 grounding who have started to inspect their impacted aircraft.

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