Airbus preparing for an independent assessment disagreement over A350 surface degradation.

Redacción - Aviación al Día

4 years ago

In the face of Qatar Airways’ continued mischaracterization of non-structural surface degradation on its A350 aircraft fleet, Airbus will seek an independent legal assessment as a means of resolving the dispute, which the two parties have been unable to resolve during direct and open discussions.

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“Safety is Airbus’ top priority. The findings related to the surface paint have been thoroughly assessed by the manufacturer and confirmed by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) as having no impact on the airworthiness of the A350 fleet” Airbus points out.

“Qatar Airways’ attempt to misrepresent this specific issue as an airworthiness problem represents a threat to international safety protocols.”

While Airbus regretted the need to go down this path, it said it has become necessary to defend its position and reputation. The manufacturer has been actively working with its customers to minimize the impact and inconvenience caused by this in-service surface degradation on aircraft. All of these solutions have been ruled out by Qatar Airways without legitimate justification.

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“The A350 is performing well in service with 99.5% operational reliability and has proven to be a symbol of resilience in the COVID-19 crisis. It is enabling major airlines around the world to resume international operations, reconnecting and bringing nations and continents back together, as the world gradually emerges from the pandemic,” the European manufacturer said.

Airbus said it is working to re-establish a constructive dialogue with Qatar Airways on this issue, but said it is not prepared to accept the continuation of inaccurate statements of this kind.

In addition, Airbus clarified that the recent EASA corrective action proposal caused by areas of missing expanded copper foil (ECF) on the wings of 13 A350s as a result of a production process, which has since been adapted, is of a different nature. The limited number of aircraft will be inspected according to the EASA directive.

Photo: New York-Air/Wikipedia