Qatar Airways’ Airbus A350-900, registered A7-ALL, was ferried to Shannon Airport (SNN) in Ireland, on November 13, 2020. There, aviation painting company International Aerospace Coatings (IAC) was supposed to give it a special livery to celebrate the 2022 FIFA World Cup to be held in Qatar. 

However, after the original livery was removed, cracks in the fuselage were reportedly found in the composite (CFRP) fuselage. It should now be ferried to Airbus headquarters in Toulouse for inspection and repairs.

AeroTime News sent a request for comment to Airbus and IAC to confirm the report. No answer was received at the time of publication.

Qatar Airways was the launch customer of the A350-900, taking delivery of its first A350 XWB in December 2014. The A350-900, under the registration number A7-ALL, was delivered in November 2016. On July 7, 2018, the aircraft was involved in an incident, when an AirAsia X A330 collided with it on the apron of Malé-Velana International Airport (MLE), Maldives.

As it received its 53rd A350 XWB on December 31, 2020, Qatar Airways surpassed Singapore Airlines (SIA1) (SINGY) and became the largest operator of the aircraft type in the world.

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Qatar Airways becomes largest A350 XWB operator
Qatar Airways welcomed its 53rd delivery of Airbus A350 XWB, becoming the largest operator of the aircraft type.