DOHA: Qatar Airways has grounded its fleet of 787 Dreamliners following directives from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) of the US and Qatar’s Civil Aviation Authority.
The airline presently has five Dreamliners (Boeing 787-8) in its fast-growing fleet and they were deployed on important routes that included Doha-London Heathrow and back, Doha-Zurich-Doha, Doha-Munich-Doha as well as on Dubai and Kuwait sectors.
One of the five grounded Dreamliners is in London Heathrow, while the remaining four are in Doha.
The airline had placed orders for 60 Dreamliner jets — 30 firm and an option for 30 more — and had received five of them.
A Qatar Airways press statement said that following instructions by both the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in the United States and Qatar’s Civil Aviation Authority, the airline was implementing the Airworthiness Directive issued by the FAA for all operators of the Boeing 787 to ground the aircraft, effective yesterday.
Chief Executive Officer of the airline, Akbar Al Baker, said: “I previously stated that Qatar Airways will only stop operating our Dreamliners if we receive such an instruction from regulators”.
“Safety remains the number one priority for Qatar Airways. We ensure all our aircraft meet the most stringent safety standards and this will not be compromised in any way. “In light of recent events surrounding the Boeing 787 Dreamliner worldwide, we are actively working with Boeing and the regulators to restore full customer confidence in the 787”.
“Qatar Airways will resume 787 operations when we are clear that the aircraft meets the full requirements of the Airworthiness Directive and our standards which assure the safety of our passengers and crew at all times. So we are not flying the aircraft until and only such a time this is achieved”, said Al Baker.
“Qatar Airways would like to express our sincere apologies to passengers booked on our 787 flights, but we are sure they will understand our concerns in view of recent events with other 787 operators around the world. Our staff are assisting all affected passengers to be accommodated on other flights to get them to their final destination with minimum inconvenience,” he added.
The Peninsula
