The International Air Transport Association (IATA) identified four priorities to address persistent failures in the aerospace supply chain at the inaugural IATA World Maintenance and Engineering Symposium in Madrid:
- Enhance
supply chain visibility
- Open
up the aftermarket
- Unlock
the value of data, digitalisation, and artificial intelligence (AI)
- Build
human capacity
Supply chain failures were a focal point at IATA’s recent
Annual General Meeting.
“The aircraft order backlog is over 18,000. And the average
fleet age has reached a record 15.2 years. Moreover, being short over 5,000
more fuel-efficient replacement aircraft that airlines had counted on, means
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,” said
Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General in his Report on the Air Transport
Industry.
“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,” said
Stuart Fox, IATA’s Director, Flight and Technical Operations.
Fox presented the Symposium with four measures which could
contribute to improving the situation:
- Enhanced
Supply Chain Visibility: IATA encouraged earlier and more
reliable information from manufacturers to airlines on delivery delays,
repair turnaround times, parts availability, and known bottlenecks to
enable airlines to better plan the operations of their global networks.
- Open
Up the Aftermarket: IATA called for more manufacturers to commit to
key principles included in the IATA-CFM agreement in support of
greater aftermarket competition by reinforcing access to third-party MRO
services, alternative parts, and approved repairs.
Longstanding commercial restrictions on repair instructions, tooling, approved repair networks, and spares distribution can limit airlines’ ability to use safe, certified alternatives. This reduces choice and competition, contributes to longer waiting times, and increases costs. - Unlock
Data, Digitalisation, and AI: IATA called for better integration
between airline maintenance systems and external market intelligence to
improve inventory management, identify material availability and scarcity,
support repair-or-replace decisions, and strengthen warranty claims. AI can
further support these processes by predicting demand, identifying
shortages, and reducing manual work.
IATA’s cooperation with the International Airlines Technical Pool (IATP) to help airlines improve visibility of, and access to, aircraft parts, and making MRO SmartHub available to airlines at no cost through a data participation program, are two examples of initiatives supporting this priority. - Build
Human Capacity: IATA urged a review of recruitment, training, and
licensing maintenance technicians to reduce timelines, expand reach, and
improve job stability. Demand for maintenance technicians is expected to
grow as evidenced by Boeing’s estimation that 710,000 new technicians will
be needed over the next 20 years. Increasing training capacity, reducing
unnecessary qualification bottlenecks, and creating greater recognition of
skills across borders will all help to fill this gap.
“The supply chain is under real pressure, but this is not a
reason for pessimism. It is a reason for action. 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,” said
Fox.
Make Aircraft Mandates Deliverable
IATA also called for realistic and globally coordinated
timelines for mandates requiring new aircraft equipment or avionics upgrades.
Compliance deadlines must take account of equipment
certification and availability, installation capacity and wider supply chain
conditions. IATA 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).
“This is not about delaying safety. It is about making safety deliverable. Global safety improvements require globally coordinated implementation timelines that reflect certification, equipment availability, and installation capacity,” said Fox. -TradeArabia News Service