The Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) has warned that “persistent” supply chain issues continue to pose operational challenges for the region’s carriers, against a backdrop of strong passenger traffic growth.
In comments made alongside its August traffic results, AAPA director general Subhas Menon says: “Delays in aircraft deliveries, shortages of spare parts and lack of skilled labour have heightened operational pressures, contributing to flight disruptions, further increasing costs.”
He appears to refer to recent high-profile operational woes faced by member airlines, including Malaysia Airlines, whose parent company had to cancel 20% of capacity through the end of the year to stabilise its operations.
Malaysia Aviation Group was faced with aircraft delivery delays, compounded by reliability and technical issues on its older jets.
Another AAPA member carrier, Cathay Pacific, also briefly cancelled several flights recently, after finding a defective fuel system component in several Airbus A350s. A damaged fuel line led to an in-flight engine fire on one A350-1000, forcing the aircraft to return to Hong Kong.
“Faced with such external pressures, airlines are carefully managing flight frequencies and schedules, without compromising the industry’s excellent safety standards,” states Menon.
His comments come as August passenger traffic inched closer to pre-pandemic levels.
According to the AAPA, Asia Pacific airlines carried 32.3 million international passengers during the month, up 21.7% year on year and about 96.1% of 2019 levels.
Capacity grew by almost 20% year on year, pushing load factor up 0.7 percentage points during the month to 83.2%.
Menon notes: “Supported by ongoing expansions in connectivity, travel demand is expected to remain healthy on routes within and across the regions.”
On the cargo front, AAPA data shows that demand rose 12.2% year on year, outpacing a 10.4% increase in capacity.
“Despite signs of moderation in the broader manufacturing sector, the surge in e-commerce demand out of the major manufacturing hubs in the region drove air cargo volumes higher,” the association notes.
