Airbus and Qatar Airways return to court on Friday as a contractual and safety dispute over A350 passenger jets descends into a tug-of-war over confidential documents while the sums at stake in their unprecedented falling-out top $1.5 billion. Qatar Airways is suing Airbus over damage to the painted surface and anti-lightning system on A350 jets, saying safety could be at risk from a design defect. Airbus acknowledges quality flaws but denies design is at fault and insists the jets are safe.
The two sides must provide each other with thousands of pages of documents as their dispute – which has already altered the shape of competition in the jet market – heads towards a rare London aerospace trial in mid-2023, barring a settlement.
