The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has outlined four measures that it believes can help solve persistent failures in the aerospace supply chain.
Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General, said of supply chain failures in his Report on the Air Transport Industry, “The aircraft order backlog is over 18,000. And the average fleet age has reached a record 15.2 years. Moreover, being short by 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 US$11 billion in 2025. Today’s higher fuel prices will only make that worse.”
Stuart Fox, IATA’s director of flight and technical operations is in agreement. “Alongside aircraft delivery delays, engine durability issues, shortages of materials and spare parts, and constrained maintenance capacity are disrupting airline operations,” he stated.
“Addressing these challenges will require practical action and cooperation across the aviation value chain.”
Four measures for a stronger supply chain
IATA has set out four priority measures which could contribute to improving the supply chain situation.
1: Enhanced supply chain visibility
IATA encourages manufacturers to give earlier and more reliable information to airlines regarding delivery delays, repair turnaround times, parts availability, and known bottlenecks in order to enable airlines to better plan the operations of their global networks.
2: Open up the aftermarket
IATA calls for more manufacturers to commit to key principles included in the IATA-CFM agreement in support of greater aftermarket competition. This would reinforce 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 limitation reduces choice and competition, contributes to longer waiting times, and increases costs.
3: Unlock data, digitalisation, and AI
IATA calls 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 has initiatives to support this priority. One is a cooperation with the International Airlines Technical Pool (IATP) to help airlines improve the visibility of, and access to, aircraft parts. Another is the MRO SmartHub, which is available to airlines at no cost through a data participation programme.
4: Build human capacity
IATA urges a review of recruitment, training, and licencing 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, says IATA.
“The supply chain is under real pressure, but this is not a reason for pessimism. It is a reason for action,” said Stuart Fox. “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.”
Make aircraft mandates deliverable
IATA also calls for realistic and globally coordinated timelines for mandates requiring new aircraft equipment or avionics upgrades.
The association says that compliance deadlines must take account of equipment certification and availability, installation capacity, and wider supply chain conditions.
“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,” added Fox.
