The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has called for greater collaboration across the aviation industry to tackle persistent aerospace supply chain challenges, outlining four priority areas that it believes will improve resilience and reduce operational disruption.

Speaking at the inaugural IATA World Maintenance and Engineering Symposium (WMES) in Madrid, Stuart Fox, IATA’s director, flight and technical operations, urged airlines, OEMs, suppliers, MROs, lessors and regulators to take practical action to address ongoing pressures affecting the global fleet.

“Airlines can’t run global networks on guesswork, but too often that is what they’re being asked to do,” Fox told delegates, highlighting the uncertainty created by aircraft delivery delays, engine durability issues, spare parts shortages and constrained maintenance capacity.

To improve the situation, IATA identified four key priorities: enhancing supply chain visibility, opening up the aftermarket, unlocking the value of data, digitalisation and artificial intelligence (AI), and building human capacity.

Fox argued that greater transparency from manufacturers on delivery schedules, repair turnaround times and parts availability would enable airlines to better plan maintenance activity and fleet operations. He also called for increased competition within the aftermarket.

“Opening up the aftermarket is a priority. Airlines need more choice, more competition and more access,” he said.

IATA believes broader access to third-party MRO providers, alternative parts and approved repairs would reduce waiting times and costs while giving operators greater flexibility in maintaining their fleets.

Digitalisation and AI also featured prominently in Fox’s address, with IATA advocating closer integration between airline maintenance systems and external market intelligence to improve inventory management, identify material shortages and support repair-or-replace decisions.

However, Fox stressed that technology is only as effective as the information behind it.

“AI is only as good as the data behind it,” he said.

The association also highlighted the growing workforce challenge facing the maintenance sector, noting industry forecasts that 710,000 new maintenance technicians will be required over the next two decades. Fox called for recruitment, training and licensing processes to evolve to attract a broader talent base.

“We must recruit from the widest possible talent pool,” he said.

Despite the scale of the challenges, Fox struck an optimistic tone, encouraging the industry to work collectively on practical solutions.

“The supply chain is under real pressure, but this is not a reason for pessimism. It is a reason for action,” he said. “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.”

Alongside its supply chain recommendations, IATA also urged regulators to adopt realistic and globally coordinated timelines for new aircraft equipment and avionics mandates, arguing that compliance deadlines must reflect equipment certification, availability, installation capacity and wider supply chain conditions.

“This is not about delaying safety,” Fox said. “It is about making safety deliverable.”

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