When Willie Walsh, director general of the International Air Transport Association, addressed journalists at the Global Media Day he outlined some of the key concerns at the pulse of global aviation:
- criticised political closures of airspace, reported doubled air traffic control delays excluding strikes, lamented insufficient sustainable aviation fuel supply, and noted aircraft delivery backlogs reaching 17000 units.
- condemned governments for using airspace restrictions as economic or political tools without security justification, forcing rerouting that increased fuel burn and emissions by 10 to 12pc in Europe. He presented data showing European ATC delays doubled over the decade to 2024 despite flight growth of only 6.7pc, with France and Germany responsible for over 50pc, and staffing issues causing 87pc of 2024 delays.
- revealed SAF production doubled to 1.9m tonnes in 2025 but slowed for 2026 to 2.4m tonnes, representing 0.8pc of jet fuel, with airlines paying €2.7bn premium due to mandates without supply growth. He warned many carriers would reevaluate 10pc SAF-by-2030 targets as volumes fell short.
- highlighted supply chain constraints with delivery shortfalls over 5300 aircraft and backlogs at 17000, equivalent to 12 years of production, costing €10.1bn in 2025 from excess fuel, maintenance, leasing, and inventory.
In a question and answers session at the conference, Mr Walsh outlined some other issues:
- Walsh reported governments blocked €1.1bn in airline funds from repatriation by October 2025, concentrated in Africa and the Middle East, with ten countries holding 89pc. Mr Walsh shared: “Airlines need reliable access to their revenues in U.S. dollars to keep operations running, pay their bills, and maintain vital air connectivity. Governments have committed to unfettered repatriation of funds in bilateral agreements,”
- He revealed sustainable aviation fuel production reached 1.9m tonnes in 2025 but fell short due to mandates, with airlines paying €3.3bn extra. “SAF production growth fell short of expectations as poorly designed mandates stalled momentum in the fledgling SAF industry. If the goal of SAF mandates was to slow progress and increase prices, policymakers knocked it out of the park,”. Walsh stated European air traffic control delays doubled over the decade to 2024 excluding strikes, with 30.4m minutes in 2024 alone. “We’re now seeing the consequences of Europe’s failure to get a grip on air traffic control. A small, expected improvement in 2025 from a very bad 2024 does not change the deterioration that we have seen over the last decade,”
- He noted aircraft delivery backlogs hit 17000 units by late 2025, costing €10.1bn in excess expenses. Walsh projected airline net profits at €37.7bn in 2026, with passenger numbers reaching 5.2bn.
