A festering legal dispute between France-based Airbus and Qatar Airways is shining the spotlight on the aircraft manufacturer’s ability to live up to the standards and bringing to fore testy relations between the aeronautics and space giant and the Gulf airline, which has alleged that paint peeling off its A350s has led to 21 of the planes being grounded.
The issue has fuelled a war of words between Airbus and Qatar’s state carrier, which is getting ready to carry majority of the fans who would head to the Gulf nation, which is to host the FIFA World Cup 2022 in winter — a marquee event for the country of 2.7 million.