Iata Director General Willie Walsh has renewed pressure on aircraft manufacturers to speed up aircraft and parts production, warning that delays would reduce airline capacity as demand for air travel neared a full recovery post-pandemic.
Walsh told Reuters that every airline CEO he had met during the Istanbul AGM and World Air Transport Summit from June 4-6 had raised the aircraft production issue. Airlines had asked Iata to intervene to push for solutions to industrial delays hampering their recovery.
“Airlines are not concerned about the macroeconomic environment; they’re concerned about the access to spare parts for their existing aircraft and the delivery of new aircraft. So it’s definitely got to hold back capacity growth. It’s frustrating because airlines can see strong demand, but they’re not able to match supply with demand in many markets. And this is something we want to see resolved.”
He said talks with manufacturers would not address contracts of individual airlines.
