Aerospace Bottlenecks stall Airline growth

Aerospace supply chain bottlenecks continue to hold back airlines across the world as aircraft and engine shortages persist, according to the International Air Transport Association's (IATA) latest Global Outlook.

- TBG NETWORK

Despite a gradual rise in deliveries toward the end of 2025 and expectations of faster production in 2026, the demand for aircraft is set to outpace supply well into the next decade. IATA says the imbalance between airline requirements and manufacturing capacity may not normalise before 2031-2034, after years of delivery shortfalls and record-high order backlogs. Delivery shortfalls now total over 5,300 aircraft, while the order backlog has climbed beyond 17,000, equal to almost 60 per cent of the world’s active fleet. Historically, this figure hovered around 30-40 per cent. The backlog represents nearly 12 years of current production capacity. With an ageing fleet averaging 15.1 years, including 12.8 years for passenger aircraft and almost 20 years for cargo planes, airlines are struggling to replace older jets at the required pace. “Airlines are feeling the impact of the aerospace supply chain challenges across their business. Higher leasing costs, r