Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner jets, including two painted with All Nippon Airways (ANA) of Japan livery, sit idle on the tarmac parking at Paine Field in Everett, Washington, yesterday.
Agencies/Doha/Washington
Qatar Airways yesterday grounded its five-strong fleet of Boeing 787 aircraft as regulators and airlines grounded nearly all of the world’s Dreamliner fleet until a fire risk linked to the plane’s batteries is fixed.
The national carrier yesterday said “following instructions by both the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in the United States and Qatar’s Civil Aviation Authority, Qatar Airways is implementing the Airworthiness Directive issued by the FAA for all operators of the Boeing 787 to ground the aircraft, effective today.”
Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer 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.
“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 members are assisting all affected passengers to be accommodated on other flights to get them to their final destination with minimum inconvenience.”
Qatar Airways currently operates five 787s, with a further 55 pending delivery. The airline took delivery of its first Boeing 787 in November.
Meanwhile, authorities in Chile, Ethiopia, Europe, India and Japan followed the lead of the FAA by halting all 787 flights after a Japanese Dreamliner was forced by a smoke alert to make an emergency landing on Wednesday.
The FAA, in grounding all US-registered 787 aircraft late Wednesday, highlighted “a potential battery fire risk in the 787” after a suspected leak emerged as the focus of inquiries into an All Nippon Airways emergency landing.
Last week, the FAA announced a comprehensive review of the 787 following a series of safety incidents.
Analysts said the ANA incident needed careful crisis management from Boeing, which made a big gamble with its next-generation plane. Pages 10, 21
