Qatar Airways has issued a press statement that On 20 January 2022, through the legal proceedings against Airbus in the Technology & Construction division of the High Court in England, sought an expedited hearing of a preliminary issue to address serious and legitimate safety concerns regarding the surface degradation condition adversely impacting their Airbus A350 fleet which has resulted so far in 21 Airbus A350 aircraft being grounded. 

Qatar Airways mentioned in the video that these defects are not superficial and one of the defects causes the aircraft’s lightning protection system to be exposed and damaged, another defect leaves the underlying composite structure exposed to moisture and ultraviolet light, and other defects include cracking in the composite and damage around a high percentage of rivets on the aircraft fuselage.

Qatar Airways has issued a statement below:

Airbus on Thursday raised the stakes in a dispute with Qatar Airways over grounded and undelivered A350 jets by announcing it had revoked a separate contract for 50 smaller A321neo jets the airline plans to use for new routes.

"We confirm we did terminate the contract for 50 A321s with Qatar Airways in accordance with our rights," an Airbus spokesman said.

Qatar Airways is seeking approximately $600 million in compensation over the grounded A350s in the fleet.

Sam Chui is one of the world's most established aviation and travel blogger, content creator and published author. He enjoys anything related to aviation and travel. His fascination with airplanes stemmed from visiting Kai Tak airport as a teenager. He has spent some of the happiest times of his life in the air.

I have just flown on the TUI Dreamliner aka 787, to Mexico 16/03/22. Having wings seats, very surprised with the amount of paint peeling off the wing on the outward journey. Returning to the UK on the 31/03/22, again wing seats, surprised yet again with repairs done to wing. Looked liked a very technical repair to the peeling paint by way of some sort of black tape (could be duck tape?). After landing you could see some of the tape had disappeared. I have photos if needed I have flown on various airlines around the world, first time I’ve seen this on wings

One thing of possible consideration is that the metal fasteners probably expand and contract with temperature variations at a different rate than the composite material itself which seems to be a valid assumption because the pictures show the fasteners exposed without the composite surface – the composite covering has cracked off and blown away.

If the composite fuselage is completely resistant to stress cracking and the required repairs necessary thereto, that would be a plus as compared to metal with a maintenance saving right there.

After doing some research on this, it seems that the paint cracking is coming from the carbon fiber fuselage expanding and contracting at a different rate from the paint that was made for metal fuselages. The A350 is not alone with this paint cracking issue, as the carbon fiber fuselage Boeing 787 has had similar paint cracking issues for the same reason. Auto racing’s solution to the inability of paint to adhere to carbon fiber was to add a coating over the carbon fiber to make the paint adhere, which probably negated the weight savings over the metal used previously. So the real solution to the paint woes of both the A350 and the 787 will probably take away the range and weight and fuel savings of both planes to where they are no different from a metal plane. Both planes already have to take a weight and fuel penalty in that they require a metal mesh over the carbon fiber to protect it from lightning strikes, and the average commercial jet gets struck by lightning at least once a year. (The paint cracking leaves this critical metal mesh exposed to the elements looking at the photos.) It seems that carbon fiber airliners are just a really bad idea in general when both the A350 and 787 require the same lightning protective metal mesh, are having the same problems when it comes to paint adhesion, and the real solution to the problem will probably give them the range, weight, and fuel economy of a metal fuselage jetliner.

This is all ‘tit for tat’ via the French in particular and i do feel,that regardless of the heat thing or if it was stress on the airframe as of the heat and sitting around for months on end even so Qatar seemed to be the busiest airline whilst covid was on ,its all childish on Airbus part!!

I agree with the CEO of Qatar its not acceptable!! They have been loyal to Airbus and spent BILLIONS on their products and their response has been IMO ‘lack lustre’ !! Shame on them frankly! Appalling business behaviour to a client! >> We get to that in a minute over the cancelling of orders etc.

Frankly Akbar IMO has every right to complain about the paint job!! Also i feel the Airbus paint team/division actually has no REMEDY to solve the problem maybe?? Either way this latest ‘spat’ i feel will eventually hurt Airbus as Qatar will remember this and their FAILURE to help a client with its product faults and most of all finding a resolve!

Boeing will win big as of this ,though i do feel what Qatar is ordering as a get back at Airbus for being dropped on that huge order is a ‘less plane’ and being Qatar wanting the best at all times,your going for in my view inferior stuff!! Maybe they can all makeup and be business friends again??

I for one will never fly on B737 MAV ,B777-9X and B787 ,yes !!

If its because of the region’s extreme heat. Then other plane types should have the same problem. If not then undeniable the 350 has a defect.

Does anyone know if other composite aircraft operated in the same environment have had issues? It’s not my climate, so I’m not familiar with it and how it affects aircraft.

During the pandemic era, these planes (Qatar Airways A350 including others) were left in a summer heat in deserted areas without any protection. The degradation is caused by the heat and night humidity in view of the Qatar geological area. Other A350 in the Middle East didn’t get the same fate as they were well informed that the planes must be grounded in a dry area but with less day heat temperature. The advise during the pandemic was clear, but some insisted that planes can be parked in any condition and anywhere. The responsibility is NOT for Airbus company but the owner of the planes A350 who didn’t took much precaution to avoid such deterioration during the Pandemic time. It’s now to the owner to take full responsibility instead of throwing the ball on the manufacturer. We take an example, if you buy a Mercedes car from Benz Company and you do not have a proper garage to park your car. With time the condition of the paint deteriorated because the Mercedes was exposed to sever heat and dust. At the end you cannot blame Benz Company because you do not have a proper garage to provide secure condition for your car.

How comes other Middle Eastern airlines are using their A350 in good condition despite the pandemic grounded planes were kept in good conditions away from humidity and heat of Middle East.

Which 5 other airlines ? Any links to check it out ?

I am a painter for American Airlines and would like to know how and with what chemicals was used to prep the surface?

The customer is always right.Whats wrong with Airbus management..

Do your research please. It will help you a lot.

@john. What are the other airlines? I have only come across Qatar of having issues. And why is Qatar making a big fuss about it and the other airlines seem to be able to work on a solution more civilised?

If the final Airbus fuselage finish is chemically related to Teflon, that may be THE problem. It is understandable that Airbus would make the surfaces as slick as possible for aerodynamic purposes.

Can any experts give their opinions on this issue after qatar airways releasing a video on the paint defects,

Qatar is using Sam always for their press releases. When the paint job aid Airbus is bad , why did Qatar let paint all their 777 at Airbus in Toulouse

I report from the press release, nothing more or less. You didn’t even understand the issue clearly, the issue is not the paint itself which is superficial. It is the degradation below the paint on A350. Not B777.

if this paint job is big news, why is the cancelation made by Airbus of 50 airplanes ordered by Qatar no news ?

It is also mentioned together in the same post. “Airbus has responded by seeking to cancel an entirely separate contract for the delivery of 50 A321 Neo aircraft”.

Hi Sam Chui! My name is Pieter Smit from the Netherlands. I was very surprised about the circumstances from QATAR AIRWAYS Airbus A350 painting! I think it is a mistake in the painting before the delivery of to QATAR AIRWAYS Airbus A350. I shame that these case are happend. I hope that QATAR and Airbus comes with a good solution. Hopely that Airbus by other Airliners are not canceld orders for these Airbus A350 aircraft! By the way; I was the Airbus Documentalist of the Netherlands. I follow you at facebook your wonderful stories of all the world flying aircraft! Greetings Pieter Smit

Craig I’d strongly assume these crazy maintenance staff at Qatar who are responsible for the cleanliness and polishing of the outside fuselage are to blame. Clearly something has been used that shouldn’t have on the paint surface to degrade in such away breaking down the clear coat layer. Also the plane could have been used mis treated in other ways. Biggest lies come out of this region and why haven’t other Airlines had the same issue.

Try reading more before commenting. 5 other airlines have the same .

Looks like a bad sunburn in the qatari desert while planes grounded.

Okay, his clearly appears to be a rather serious as well as unsightly issue. However, this begs one additional question…is this paint affliction a common issue amongst other A350 carriers, or is this issue exclusive to the Qatar Airline paint selection or formulation?

One or two others, I think this I due to the extreme heat in the gulf, although, this should not be happening.

At least 5 other airlines have had the same issues. Not all are in the desert

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