IATA urges action as aircraft supply chain failures cost airlines $11bn

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has identified four priorities to tackle persistent failures in the aerospace supply chain, warning that delivery delays, parts shortages and constrained maintenance capacity are continuing to disrupt airline operations and raise costs. The priorities were presented at the inaugural IATA World Maintenance and Engineering Symposium in Madrid, where the association called for stronger supply chain visibility, a more open aftermarket, better use of data and artificial intelligence, and a renewed focus on training maintenance technicians. The scale of the problem was also set out at IATA’s recent Annual General Meeting, where IATA Director General Willie Walsh warned that the aircraft order backlog had climbed to over 18,000, while the average fleet age had reached a record 15.2 years. He said airlines were also “short over 5,000 more fuel-efficient replacement aircraft that airlines had counted on,” adding that this meant “missed efficiency gains, not to mention higher lease rates and increased maintenance costs.” “In total, supply chain failures cost airlines at least $11 billion in 2025. Today’s higher fuel prices will only make that worse,” Walsh said in his Report on the Air Transport Industry. IATA said the pressure on airlines was no longer limited to aircraft deliveries. It now stretches across engines, materials, spare parts and maintenance capacity, creating a wider challenge for the aviation value chain. Stuart Fox, IATA’s Director, Flight and Technical Operations, said that “Alongside aircraft delivery delays, engine durability issues, shortages of materials and spare parts, and constrained maintenance capacity are disrupting airline operations. Addressing these challenges will require practical action and cooperation across the aviation value chain.” The first priority, according to IATA, is enhanced supply chain visibility. The association said airlines need earlier and more reliable information from manufacturers on delivery delays, repair turnaround times, parts availability and known bottlenecks, so they can plan their global networks more effectively. At the same time, IATA called for the aftermarket to be opened up, saying more manufacturers should commit to the key principles included in the IATA-CFM agreement, which supports greater aftermarket competition by reinforcing access to third-party MRO services, alternative parts and approved repairs. The association said longstanding commercial restrictions on repair instructions, tooling, approved repair networks and spares distribution can limit airlines’ ability to use safe and certified alternatives. This, in turn, reduces choice and competition, contributes to longer waiting times and increases costs. A further priority is the need to unlock the value of data, digitalisation and artificial intelligence. IATA said better integration between airline maintenance systems and external market intelligence could improve inventory management, identify material availability and scarcity, support repair-or-replace decisions and strengthen warranty claims. AI, it added, could also help airlines predict demand, identify shortages and reduce manual work, particularly at a time when parts availability has become more difficult to manage. IATA said its cooperation with the International Airlines Technical Pool (IATP) to help airlines improve visibility of, and access to, aircraft parts, together with its decision to make MRO SmartHub available to airlines at no cost through a data participation programme, were two examples of initiatives supporting this priority. The fourth area is human capacity. IATA urged a review of recruitment, training and licensing for maintenance technicians, saying the industry needs to reduce timelines, expand reach and improve job stability. Demand for maintenance technicians is expected to grow significantly, with Boeing estimating that 710,000 new technicians will be needed over the next 20 years. IATA said increasing training capacity, reducing unnecessary qualification bottlenecks and creating greater recognition of skills across borders would all help to fill this gap. Fox said that “The supply chain is under real pressure, but this is not a reason for pessimism. It is a reason for action.” He added that “These four priorities alone are not complete solutions. But they would be an important step for OEMs, suppliers, MROs, lessors, regulators, and airlines working together to achieve the resilient aerospace supply chains that global connectivity needs.” IATA also used the symposium to call for realistic and globally coordinated timelines for mandates requiring new aircraft equipment or avionics upgrades. The association said compliance deadlines must take account of equipment certification and availability, installation capacity and wider supply chain conditions. It has raised these concerns with the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), including in relation to requirements connected with the Global Aeronautical Distress and Safety System (GADSS), Runway Overrun Awareness and Alerting Systems (ROAAS), and Automatic Dependent Surveillance–Broadcast (ADS-B). Fox said that “This is not about delaying safety. It is about making safety deliverable”, concluding that “global safety improvements require globally coordinated implementation timelines that reflect certification, equipment availability, and installation capacity.”