Airline chief executives speaking at the Farnborough International Airshow 2026 Leaders’ Summit have warned that narrowbody delivery delays and persistent supply chain disruption remain the primary operational threat to low-cost, regional and legacy carriers, six years after the COVID-19 pandemic first disrupted production lines.

The panel, chaired by industry journalist Mark Pilling, brought together Nasaruddin A. Baker, president and group chief executive of Malaysia Aviation Group , Paul Kent, chief commercial officer of BOC Aviation , Sean Doyle, chief executive and chairman of British Airways and Tony Douglas, chief executive of Riyadh Air.

Kent issued the most direct warning of the session, challenging airframe manufacturers over proposed timelines for a next-generation narrowbody, a segment critical to low-cost and regional operators’ cost bases.

“I’m not keen to see a new narrowbody in a 2030 timeframe,” Kent told the summit.

Kent argued that manufacturers should prioritise resolving current supply chain backlogs and stabilising production rates before committing resources to a clean-sheet platform.

Doyle described network capacity planning as increasingly complex, with operators managing the combined pressure of volatile fuel prices and extended delivery delays simultaneously. He said the sector has moved past the most acute phase of pandemic-era disruption, but that operators now need to focus on operational resilience, standardised data platforms and wider use of technology to stabilise day-to-day scheduling while supply chains remain fragmented.

Supply chain constraints were identified by summit speakers as the leading obstacle to capacity growth across the sector, with financing conditions also cited as a top-three priority for aerospace businesses globally as the industrial backlog continues to weigh on delivery schedules.

The panel’s consensus pointed to an extended period of tactical fleet management for carriers rather than near-term access to new aircraft types. Leaders across the mainline, low-cost and regional segments used the summit to press planemakers to resolve existing industrial bottlenecks, including MRO slot backlogs, before advancing new technology programmes.

No timeline for resolving current delivery delays was given by manufacturers at the summit.