Cold between Paris and Doha is behind the escalation between Airbus and Qatar

Airbus cancels an order for Qatar Airways in a move that may further complicate relations between Paris and Doha due to the French escalation against

Airbus denies Qatar's allegations

Doha- Qatari-French relations are in a state of coldness that Gulf sources attribute to the disappointing results of the visit by French President Emmanuel Macron last December to Qatar as part of his Gulf tour, considering that this coldness is what fuels the current escalation between Qatar and the European Airbus. Specialized aircraft manufacturer headquartered in France.

These sources said that the French president did not get what he was planning during that visit, unlike his visit to Abu Dhabi, in which he obtained agreements for major projects and investments, pointing out that the coldness between Paris and Doha is linked to regional political positions, especially the French escalation against the policies of Turkish President Recep Tayyip. Erdogan is an ally of the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.

Media coverage of the French president's visit to Doha focused on a general talk about "bilateral relations and ways to strengthen and develop them", as well as the situation in Afghanistan and Lebanon, without any references to agreements with an economic or military dimension, such as those obtained by Macron in the UAE.

In an unprecedented decision in the field of aerospace industries, the European group Airbus canceled an order for Qatar Airways for 50 A321neo planes, in an escalation between the European Aerospace Group and one of its biggest customers who criticized it for defects in the paintwork of the A350 planes.

The European Community's response was strong. An Airbus spokesperson confirmed information published by Bloomberg Financial News Agency, saying, “We confirm that we have terminated a contract that includes fifty A321 aircraft with Qatar Airways, according to our right.”

In general, orders are usually canceled by customer companies when they do not have the means to finance the purchase or no longer need the aircraft.

According to the bid price that Airbus last published in 2018, which was not implemented, the value of this order exceeded six billion dollars.

This dispute between the aircraft manufacturer and the airline dates back to last summer. At the beginning of August, Qatar Airways announced that it had received an order from the regulator in its country to ground 13 of its Airbus A350 aircraft due to the rapid deterioration of the fuselage surfaces.

Twenty-one of these long-haul aircraft have been frozen, according to the airline, which has a fleet of 53 A350s. It was supposed to receive 23 other planes, but it refused to receive more of them since last summer.

Airbus, which acknowledges that the paint has deteriorated, which could jeopardize the integrated metal grille intended to protect the aircraft from lightning strikes, stresses that this has no safety consequences in flight.

The European Aviation Safety Agency confirmed that this defect does not entail any navigational risks.

This defect was detected in some aircraft operated by other companies, but Qatar Airways is the only one that prevents them from flying, which leads to a significant loss of profits for the company specializing in long-haul flights.

The European aircraft manufacturer group saw this as a "threat to international aviation safety protocols" and said in December it was ready to resort to independent arbitration.

Airbus, which intends to "defend its position and reputation", confirmed that it was a matter of "resolving the dispute, which the two parties were unable to resolve during direct and open discussions," as stated in a statement in an unusually sharp tone targeting one of the group's most important customers and the second largest airline in the East. Middle East after Emirates Airlines.

Qatar Airways has demanded $618 million in compensation and a fine of $4 million for each additional day of paralyzing its A350 aircraft, according to an informed source.

Qatar Airways preferred to present the case to the British judiciary. During Thursday's hearing before the High Court of Justice in London, each side presented its arguments.

Airbus invoked a contract failure clause regarding the refusal to take delivery of the additional A350s to justify the cancellation of the A321neo order.

This single-aisle aircraft, which has no equivalent in capacity and flight distance to American competition Boeing, is at the heart of Airbus' strategy and commercial success, as the "A321neo" alone in 2021 represented three-quarters of the orders submitted to the European group.