Airbus is lagging behind in the aircraft delivery race as it has been forced to delay deliveries of A330 jets worth well over $1 billion to airlines owned by China’s HNA Group following a dispute over late payments, a report said.

According to sources, a number of A330 widebody aircraft -  all painted in the liveries of HNA Group airlines (Hainan Airlines, Beijing Capital Airlines and Tianjin Airlines) - were being held on the tarmac in Toulouse as discussions between the two groups continued, said a report in Financial Times.

The situation for HNA has been more difficult following the recent death of its chairman Wang Jian after an accident in France, complicating the financially troubled conglomerate’s efforts to restructure and pay off borrowings.

Six A330s were parked on the tarmac in Toulouse, Airbus headquarters, which carried the livery of Hainan Airlines, Beijing Capital Airlines and Tianjin Airlines. The six A330s would cost a total of $1.6 billion at list prices, a Reuters report confirmed.

One person with knowledge of the subject told the Financial Times: “There are problems with finance, but we are talking and there is progress.”