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Qatar Airways chief Akbar Al Baker urged Airbus to acknowledge that the company is having problems with defects on the surface of its A350 aircraft, Reuters reports. The company will stop further deliveries.
Qatar Airways has stopped operating 20 of its 53 A350s. The problem is associated with the rapid wear of the surface of their fuselages.
Reuters writes that at least five other airlines have raised concerns about surface defects since the A350 entered service. In some cases, the damage was erased deeper than the paint, to the layer of lightning protection.
Airbus denies that any carriers other than Qatar Airways have encountered the problem. The company later announced that it was working on changing the coating material.
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