By Tim Hepher

(Reuters) – A very rare case involving Qatar Airways’ claim for compensation of more than $600,000,000 from Airbus due to flaws found on A350 aircraft surfaces is expected for an intial hearing this week, people familiar with it said.

Experts warn that this dispute, if not resolved quickly, marks the first instance in history of an arbitration between large airlines and planemakers.

A division of the High Court, London set Thursday as the date for a procedural hearing.

Qatar Airways and Airbus declined to comment. This has created doubts about the delivery of 23 A350s and a separate order for 50 A321s. Sources in the industry say that Airbus could refuse to place the additional order.

Bloomberg reports that Airbus has confirmed it believes it terminated its A321 contract. The status of Qatar Airways’ opposition to any attempts to cancel A321 remains unclear. Qatar Airways has stated that it requires the planes.

Both companies are locked in an ongoing dispute over damage to A350, including riveted and blistered areas, cracks in window frames, or riveted areas.

Qatar Airways has claimed that it has been stopped flying 21 of its 53 A350 planes because there were problems. The dispute has erupted with Airbus who has stated that although they acknowledge the technical issues, there is no safety concern.

Qatar Airways seeks $618 million as compensation for 21 of its grounded aircraft, plus an additional $4 million per day to keep the row going.

It is asking British judges for an order directing Airbus, France-based Airbus to not attempt to transport any more jets until the design defect it claims has been corrected.

Airbus said that it would “deny in whole” the complaint. It also accused Qatar Airways of misleadingly labeling the issue as a safety risk.

The company indicated that it would argue Qatar Airways, a state-owned Qatar Airways, induced its regulator to ground jets in order to get compensation. Qatar Airways, however, has challenged the design of the aircraft and accused Airbus, according to people.

Qatar Airways stated that the local regulator of safety is driving decisions. It cannot assess the airworthiness and reliability of affected planes without Airbus’ deeper analysis.

European Union Aviation Safety Agency stated that it has yet to find any evidence of problems with airworthiness.

Qatar remains the country which has ground all of the planes.

But a Reuters investigation https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/costly-airbus-paint-flaw-goes-wider-than-gulf-2021-11-29 in November revealed at least five other airlines had discovered paint or surface flaws since 2016, prompting Airbus to set up an internal task force before the Qatar row and to explore a new A350 anti-lightning design.