Welcome to another news-based video! While our other news videos have covered a variety
of topics, today’s feature will focus on the ongoing saga with the Airbus A350
and its issues related to cracking paint. While news has intensified over the past few weeks,
the first signs of problems took place nearly a full year ago.
Let’s take a look at how this issue has evolved and progressed over the past year...
This entire ordeal seemed to begin in January of 2021 when it was reported that a four-year-old
Qatar Airways A350-900 was reportedly flying back to Airbus facilities in Toulouse
to be inspected after cracks were discovered during repainting. The aircraft hadn’t had a
commercial flight for about two months, having been in Shannon (Ireland) since November 13th.
The reports of the affected aircraft come via Twitter – particularly after Oisín Tierney posted
photos of the aircraft, registered as A7-ALL. The Shannon-based pilot and aviation photographer
noted that the A350-900 was to undergo inspection and work with Airbus in Toulouse.
Several others added more detail to the picture, with one user saying
quote “it was the first 350 to be stripped for a repaint and lots of issues were found on fuselage.
A team of Airbus technical guys having been working on it. They found cracks in the composite
body work, they didn’t want it left out in the open. To be ferried to Toulouse for repairs.”
Another user echoed this, saying that the repaint was halted due to a “technical issue”
noted when the aircraft was stripped, with the cracks being found by scanners.
Tierney noted that there was a major issue with the stabilizer in particular.
An Airbus spokesperson told Simple Flying the following at the time:
“Whilst undergoing a repaint at Shannon, Qatar Airways’ Airbus A350-900 aircraft was observed
to have some irregularities on the surface coating. The issue is superficial/cosmetic
and only visible when the top coat of paint is stripped.”
The spokesperson added that this is not a structural composite issue.
The aircraft was flown to Toulouse for further inspection -as a precaution-
and re-painting and it was emphasized that there was no safety concern with the aircraft.
Roughly five months later, at the end of May, Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker confirmed
that there was an outstanding issue with the manufacturer, which might cause the airline to
refuse delivery of its incoming aircraft. Abkar Al Baker was tight-lipped at the
time on what the actual issue was, simply saying, “I, unfortunately,
cannot tell you what that issue is.” Airbus was also not divulging any information either.
However, just over a week later, in early June, Qatar Airways was reported
to have halted deliveries of its A350s due to dissatisfaction with the finish on the aircraft.
The surface below the paint was reportedly degrading unusually quickly, prompting the
airline to put a stop on new jets being delivered. In an interview, Group CEO Akbar Al Baker said,
“Qatar Airways continues to experience and has witnessed a condition in which the surface below
the paint on some of its Airbus A350 aircraft has been degrading at an accelerated rate.”
Qatar Airways said that it would require this condition and its underlying root cause to
be fully understood and corrected before the delivery of any further Airbus A350 aircraft.
Two months later, the situation escalated further when Qatar Airways grounded 13 of its A350s.
The airline cited the fuselage surface below the paint degrading at an accelerated rate.
Qatar Airways said that it was working closely with the Qatar’s aviation regulator regarding the
issue and that the regulator had issued ‘explicit written instructions’ to ground the 13 aircraft
affected- which would later become 16 aircraft. Commenting on the situation,
an Airbus spokesperson told Simple Flying, “As a leading aircraft manufacturer we are
always in talks / working with our customers. Those talks we keep confidential. We have no
further comment on our customer’s operations.” Days prior to the grounding, Simple Flying
reported that Qatar Airways was reactivating its Airbus A330 fleet- revealing that the carrier
had decided to bring back grounded aircraft in order to maintain sufficient capacity.
Shortly after, it was reported that EASA had been looking at the issue with both
Airbus and the airline. The European regulator deemed it unnecessary to take action concerning
the matter at the time, as there wasn’t any indication that the issue affected the structure
of the aircraft or introduced other risks. An EASA spokesperson told Simple Flying
that the agency had been aware of the Airbus A350 issue being experienced by
Qatar Airways since the end of 2020, saying: “Based on the data provided to EASA, there
is no indication that the paint and protection degradation affects the structure of the aircraft
or introduces other risks, and so EASA is not intending to take any action as State of Design
for this issue at this time. No other airlines have reported paint and protection damage.”
Around the same time in August, Singaporean outlet The Straits Times, reported that
Singapore Airlines hadn’t experienced any of the Airbus A350 issues presented by Qatar Airways.
Leading many to believe that the issue was limited to the middle-eastern carrier.
Then, at the start of October, while speaking at the IATA AGM in Boston,
Al Baker added further details to the situation. Speaking to Bloomberg, the airline executive said
that the issue was related to the paint that the aircraft had been delivered in,
which was deteriorating on composite areas where the aircraft experienced aerodynamic stress.
This stress then appeared to cause cracks in the composite structure.
Interestingly, Bloomberg also spoke to Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury, at the same event. Faury
reportedly suggested that there was no reason for any aircraft to be grounded,
adding that the manufacturer is trying to resolve the issue with Qatar Airways
One of the biggest stories in this saga took place about two months later, at the end of November. It
was at this time that Reuters discovered that at least five other airlines have complained about
deterioration of the painted surface on the A350. The publication named Finnair, Cathay Pacific,
Etihad, Lufthansa and Air France (on behalf of Air Caraibes) as all raising concerns about the issue.
The investigation noted that Finnair, Cathay and Lufthansa cited some ‘cosmetic damage’ on their
A350s with Finnair reporting paint damage just a year after taking its first A350. Cathay Pacific
reported similar problems just weeks later, and in one post said the issue had been found
on an A350 just two weeks after taking delivery. Meanwhile, Lufthansa sent messages in 2017 saying
that areas of peeling paint had been discovered on its A350s, some as big as a square meter.
Airbus described the problem as ‘early surface wear’, which in some cases led to the lightning
mesh under the surface becoming exposed. While not an unsafe condition per se, a source told Reuters
that for Qatar Airways and at least one other airline, the wear had become so great that the
mesh itself had begun to develop gaps. As we’ve noted in previous reporting, these gaps would
leave the carbon composite fuselage exposed to the elements, and could lead to eventual damage.
Around the same time as the major report, Al Baker had spoken at a meeting of the UK Aviation Club,
giving his opinion of the upcoming A350 freighter. It was clear that the ongoing issues with the
paint degradation on the A350 passenger jets had caused what he calls a quote-unquote “very
large dent” in the airline’s widebody operations. With his grounded A350s growing from 13
to 16 and then 20, the carrier had quote-unquote ‘reluctantly’ brought back the A380 because of
capacity issues caused by the loss of the A350s. When asked if this issue has closed the door
on any order for the A350F, he answered simply, “Yes.”
The latest development to this saga, at least at the time of creating this video,
took place in early December. It was at this time that Airbus revealed that it was seeking an
independent legal assessment against an unnamed airline in the ongoing A350 paint saga.
While the planemaker doesn’t name Qatar Airways, it implied that this was the airline in question.
Airbus said that the airline in question had been misrepresenting the issue
by calling it an airworthiness issue. In an official statement issued, the
planemaker said the following, “In the face of the ongoing mischaracterisation
of non-structural surface degradation on its fleet of A350 aircraft by one of its customers,
it has become necessary for Airbus to seek an independent legal assessment as a way forward
to resolve the dispute… The attempt by this customer to misrepresent this specific topic
as an airworthiness issue represents a threat to the international protocols on safety matters.”
While Airbus said that it was quote-unquote ‘regrettably’ taking action to defend its
position and reputation, it appeared that it was also leaving the door open to repairing relations.
The company said that it was quote “working to establish a constructive
dialogue with its customer on this matter.” but also added that it was
“not willing to accept inaccurate statements of this kind to continue.”
More on this saga is likely to surface in the coming weeks-
and while we’ve gone fairly in-depth with this particular topic, there is
much more detail in the corresponding articles which can all be found on SimpleFlying.com.
Check out the links in the description to learn more- and, as always, leave a comment
and share your thoughts on this video and how you think this situation will unfold.