IATA chairman Walsh calls on aircraft manufacturers to reduce delivery delays

As the demand for air travel nears a full recovery from the epidemic, the leader of an organization that represents international airlines increased pressure on planemakers to quicken the manufacture of planes and parts on Sunday.

The International Air Transport Association’s director general, Willie Walsh, told Reuters that during his meetings with airline CEOs during the industry’s three-day annual meeting in Istanbul, “every single one” of them had brought up the subject.

Airlines “are not worried about the macroeconomic environment; they are worried about the delivery of new aircraft and the availability of spare parts for their current aircraft.” Therefore, it must unquestionably restrain capacity increase, he said.

“It’s disappointing that despite robust demand, airlines are unable to balance supply and demand in many areas. And we want to see this issue handled.

Delivery delays have been attributed to supply chains by Airbus and Boeing, and airlines have been forced to ground numerous aircraft due to bottlenecks in a network of engine maintenance facilities.