Dispute Continues as Paint Flaws, Premature Cracking Ground 20 Aircraft

Concerns over a prematurely cracked, worn, or failing paint job on its relatively fresh A350s have led Qatar Airways to ground 20 of its 53 aircraft. The Qatari flag carrier states the grounding was done at the behest of national regulators due to blistered, pockmarked, and flaked appearance of the paint on areas of the fuselage, window trim, and more. 

 The company state  there is no concern over flight safety, with other airlines similarly chalking up the issue to cosmetic concerns over immediate repair issues. The photos released portray paint that wouldn't look far out of place for a neglected Fox Body Mustang parked in the driveway of a Phoenix summertime home. Peeling, cracking, flaking, on areas with visible copper mesh underneath abound in areas designed to absorb lighting contact while in flight. Airbus refers to the issue as early surface wear, even when the damage exposes the sub-layer to open air. 

 Qatar is less than pleased with the result, having halted the delivery of the rest of their 76-strong order. After grounding the first batch of afflicted aircraft in August, the company deferred delivery of its remaining 23 A350's until the issue could be successfully resolved. While ordinary wear and tear is to be expected in the airline industry, the wear certainly leaves a bad taste in the mouth when each aircraft was freshly purchased for more than $366 million each.

Some rumors from inside Qatar state that not only the lightning mesh was exposed to the air, but that some instances resulted in gaps in the bodywork that left the carbon fiber fuselage exposed to sun, weather, and damage.

Airbus states that the issue is likely the result of the hotter desert conditions of the Doha based airline in Qatar. The region is subject to much higher disparities in temperature, with faster swings, and more direct sunlight than other more temperate service locations.

Private Airbus message boards have intimated that the issue is far more common than the one-off the company had wanted to convey. Finnair, operating theirs in the frigid north of Finland, raised similar concerns in 2016.

As the issue stands now, Airbus maintains that no effect on the structure of the aircraft or operators has been noticed with high operational reliability throughout the fleet. The company has stated that a better lightning protection system is in the works, but has been reticent to agree to a fix that would risk becoming a very expensive fleet-wide repair. The dispute continues, as Qatari regulators decide just how airworthy those affected aircraft remain, and Qatar Airways doesn't show any hint of backing down. 

FMI: www.airbus.com