(Bloomberg) -- Qatar Airways plans to fight the cancellation of an aircraft order by planemaker Airbus SE in court, the latest escalation of an acrimonious dispute.

The Middle East airline asked the court for an injunction to stop Airbus from trying to cancel the contracts because it will “severely affect” the airline and is “misguided and legally invalid,” according to documents prepared by Qatar’s lawyers for a London hearing on Friday.

“My clients have been in the queue now for four years,” Philip Shepherd, Qatar’s lawyer, said in court. “It’s only on January 17 that this changed.” 

The fight between the manufacturer and one of its biggest customers is playing out in court after Qatar sued Airbus over surface-paint defects on A350 jets. The planemaker responded by canceling a separate contract to deliver its hard-to-get A321s, as well as two A350s due for delivery.

Airbus has said it’s within the company’s rights to scrap the order due to a “cross-default” clause in the contract. 

Qatar’s regulators have been grounding A350s since the middle of last year due to the paint issues and the airline has refused to take delivery of any more until the matter is resolved. Airbus said in a court filing last month that Qatar is “in clear default of its contractual obligations” in refusing to accept the two outstanding jets.

Airbus’s cancellation of the A321neo order shocked the industry, with such moves usually only made if an airline is unable to pay for the aircraft. The planemaker struck a more conciliatory tone as it reported record earnings Thursday, with Chief Executive Officer Guillaume Faury saying he hopes to find “an amicable resolution” and keep the airline as a customer. 

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