Qatar Airways had asked the High Court in London to suspend Airbus’ cancellation of an order for 50 single-aisle A321 aircraft, worth more than $6 billion.
Months ago, Qatar entered into a dispute with Airbus over the deterioration of the exterior surfaces of the fuselage in some of its A350 wide-body aircraft.
Al-Baker said, on the sidelines of a press conference on preparations for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, “Every partnership has its disputes, and I only hope that this dispute will be resolved outside the courts.”
The dispute led to the airline, one of the “big three” airlines in the Gulf, grounding 23 aircraft, and not accepting more deliveries from the European company until the problem was resolved.
Qatar Airways filed a lawsuit against Airbus over this issue before the High Court in London last December, as Airbus strongly defended the A350 against any suggestions that the plane was not safe.
The Civil Aviation Authority in Qatar suspended the planes, considering that the metal grille under the paint poses a safety risk, but the European Aviation Safety Agency considered that the problem related to the paint “has no effect on the airworthiness of the A350 fleet.”