National carrier Qatar Airways has put the the last of its A-350 planes back into service. It was grounded last year due to deteriorating fuselage paint problems. It is a situation that has caused a heated legal dispute between the Arab company and the European aircraft manufacturer.

The A-350/900 plane (registration A7-ALF) had been removed from the operational fleet and parked on the ground in July 2021 at Doha Hamad International. It was subsequently transferred to Shannon on 22 December 2023 to undergo maintenance. Finally on 7 February it returned to Qatar and operated its first commercial flight (QR1190) on 16 February, after more than 2.5 years. 

The Qatar Airways fleet currently consists of 34 A-350/900s and 24 A-350/1000s. Some of these planes are currently not operational, but this is linked to the ordinary maintenance of the aircraft. All fuselage paint problems have now been resolved by Airbus. 

On the topic, see also the article published by AVIONEWS.