Qatar Airways has released a video demonstrating the battered exterior of one of its planes that underscored, according to the airline, some "serious and legitimate safety concerns".
Amid an ongoing dispute between Qatar Airways and Airbus, 21 of the 53 A350s operated by the state-owned airline have been grounded.
In the video, one can observe some defects on the skin of one of the grounded planes like damaged paint, cracks in the anti-lightning protection, along with what the company views as patches of carbon-fibre that were exposed to moisture and ultra-violet light.
"We continue to strongly believe that Airbus must undertake a thorough investigation of this condition to conclusively establish its full root cause", Qatar Airways said as cited by Reuters.
Qatar Airways is seeking $618 million in compensation, along with an additional $4 million per day. It has also halted taking new A350 deliveries. The airline points to the deterioration of paint and anti-lightning protection of the planes intended to travel long distances.
Airbus admitted the said defects need attention but argued they pose no safety threats. According to the plane maker, Qatar Airways is trying to engineer the dispute for the sake of compensation. It also said that the state-owned airline had "no reasonable or rational basis" for grounding the A350s.