Qatar Airways has cited an issue with degradation of the fuselage surface after being instructed by its regulator to ground 13 Airbus A350's. The Middle Eastern carrier says it is "working with its regulator to ensure the continued safety of all passengers and, on this basis, and following the explicit written instruction of its regulator, 13 aircraft have now been grounded, effectively removing them from service until such time as the root cause can be established and a satisfactory solution made available to permanently correct the underlying condition". It adds that it will continue to "closely monitor the significant condition across its Airbus A350 fleet in which the fuselage surface below the paint is degrading at an accelerated rate". Airbus states: "As a leading aircraft manufacturer, we are always in talks/working with our customers. Those talks we keep confidential. We have no further comment on our customer's operations." Data shows Qatar Airways has a total of 53 A350's – 34 A350-900's and 19 A350-1000's – having been the launch customer for both variants. It has 23 A350-1000s on order. During a FlightPlan webinar in June, Qatar Airways chief executive Akbar Al Baker accused Airbus of "bullying" tactics amid a technical dispute regarding the A350, although he declined to comment on the details. "We will not take any planes from Airbus until such time that the concerns we have are addressed by them, and they are contractually obliged by that," he said. When asked to clarify whether he believed Airbus was trying to bully the carrier, he responded: "Yes, because they are ignoring the issue with the planes that we have, and they are trying to dilly-dally and drag their fleet instead of solving the problems that they have." He added that the dispute would complicate a potential order for a next-generation freighter from the manufacturer.

Canada's Porter Airlines has tapped Embraer for aftermarket support. The Brazilian airframer says the total support programme covers airframe heavy maintenance checks, technical solutions and access to Embraer's pool programme for up to 20 years. Embraer Services & Support's chief executive Johann Bordais states: "Embraer will provide all necessary support, long before the airline starts operations with the most efficient single-aisle aircraft in the world, the E195-E2." The manufacturer's Aircraft Customer Services unit will deliver the pool programme services in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The programme includes component exchanges and repair services for hundreds of reparable items in Porter's E2 fleet.
Embraer Aircraft Maintenance Services will perform the heavy checks elsewhere in the USA, at Nashville, Tennessee. Embraer and Porter will collaborate to offer services related to the aircraft entry into service in the coming months. These include provisioning services, spare-parts recommendations and technical training. Toronto-based Porter will be the North American launch customer for Embraer's E2 family of E-Jets. The airline plans to deploy the E195-E2s to business and leisure destinations across Canada, the USA, Mexico and the Caribbean, from Ottawa, Montreal, Halifax and Toronto airports. Delivery and entry into service of Porter's E195-E2s is scheduled to start in the second half of 2022.

Flag carrier South African Airways (SAA) has inched a step closer to resuming operations after receiving its renewed operating license from the South African Civil Aviation Authority. The airline’s interim chief executive Thomas Kgokolo says the carrier plans "to take to the skies again in just a few weeks". "At our Airways Park headquarters, in hangars and at terminals around the country our staff are hard at work in finishing the final preparatory phases before we make an official announcement about the exact take-off date,” Kgokolo states. The carrier cleared a major roadblock towards resuming operations after it reached an agreement with the SAA Pilots Association in July. The deal followed the in-principle agreement reached on 6 July, with member pilots voting with a significant 95% majority, in favour of the agreement during a ballot process which closed on 11 July. Under the agreement, SAA says it will retain 88 pilots from the total of 268 remaining pilots. Kgokolo says that the pilots who will form the nucleus of the fleet’s cockpit have been identified and the processes to bring them on board will conclude in the next two weeks.