IATA Warns of Aircraft Engine Maintenance Shortage: How It May Affect Flights and Prices

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released a new study on June 24 regarding bottlenecks in the maintenance of modern narrow-body aircraft engines. For passengers, this topic may sound technical, but its consequences are entirely practical: fewer available aircraft, more difficult schedule planning, higher vulnerability to cancellations, and additional pressure on airfare costs.

This primarily concerns next-generation engines for the most common medium-haul aircraft: the LEAP produced by CFM International and the Geared Turbofan, known as GTF, from Pratt & Whitney. These power plants are used in popular families such as the Airbus A320neo, Boeing 737 MAX, and other aircraft that daily perform a large portion of flights between European cities, resorts, Middle Eastern hubs, and domestic routes in various regions of the world.

The essence of IATA's warning is not that flights have become dangerous. Aviation safety remains a strictly regulated field, and aircraft are not cleared for flight if their technical condition does not meet standards. The problem is different: when engines require more frequent or longer maintenance, and there is a shortage of spare engines, parts, repair slots, and certified workshops, it becomes harder for airlines to keep their fleet operational. For a tourist, this may manifest not in the name of the engine on board, but in unstable schedules, fewer flight options, more expensive tickets, or the need to fly with a less convenient connection.

What Exactly IATA Reported

According to IATA and the consulting firm Emerton, who prepared a joint study on the maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) market, modern engines for narrow-body aircraft are facing several simultaneous constraints. Among them, the association cites engine durability issues, shortage of spare parts, lack of spare power plants, limited access to repair capacities, and a complex after-sales service structure.

One of the most telling facts: the number of aircraft with Pratt & Whitney GTF engines that were grounded due to waiting for repair, spare engines, or parts reached 648 aircraft in March 2025. IATA specifies that this represented 28% of the fleet with such engines. In this situation, airlines are forced not just to wait: they continue leasing older aircraft, rent additional planes, revise fleet plans, and adjust capacity on routes.

A second important figure concerns the future load on the repair system. In 2024, deliveries of modern engines for narrow-body aircraft were approximately 2,000 units: about 800 GTF and 1,200 LEAP. Between 2030 and 2040, IATA expects deliveries to stabilize at around 3,700 engines per year. This is good for fleet renewal, but it means a significantly higher demand for technical maintenance.

The forecast for engine shop visits looks sharp: for LEAP, the annual number of shop visits could grow from approximately 600-800 in 2025 to over 5,000 in 2040, and for GTF, from about 1,000 to over 2,000 over the same period. If the maintenance system does not expand and become more flexible, today's delays could turn into a long-term structural problem for the aviation market.

Why This Is Important Specifically for Tourists

For most travelers, the technical side of aviation remains invisible. A person buys a ticket, sees the airline, departure time, and sometimes the aircraft type. But behind schedule stability stands the aircraft fleet, crew availability, technical reserves, spare aircraft, and the ability to quickly replace a plane in case of failure. If part of the fleet is delayed on the ground due to engines, the carrier has less room for maneuver.

In the high season, this is especially noticeable. In summer, airlines plan maximum aircraft utilization, adding resort flights, charter programs, and more frequent flights to popular cities and connections through hubs. When the technical reserve is thinner, any failure spreads more easily across the network. A delayed morning flight can affect the evening departure of the same aircraft, and the absence of a spare plane complicates the rapid restoration of the schedule.

This does not mean that passengers should avoid air travel en masse. But it means that in 2026, when planning complex routes, it is worth being more conservative. If a trip includes a cruise, wedding, business event, connections on separate tickets, or departure from another city, it is better to leave more time between segments. For connections through large hubs, it is useful to check flight statuses in advance on online boards, for example for London Heathrow, Frankfurt, Paris Charles de Gaulle, Amsterdam Schiphol, Madrid, or Istanbul.

How the Repair Shortage May Affect Prices

Airfares increase or decrease for more than one reason. Prices are influenced by demand, fuel, competition on the route, exchange rates, airport fees, taxes, geopolitics, and the strategy of a specific carrier. However, fleet constraints are also important. If an airline cannot put as many aircraft on the line as planned, it sells fewer seats. When demand remains high, lower supply supports higher fares.

IATA specifically notes that supply chain problems cost the aviation industry over $11 billion in 2025. This estimate included delayed fuel savings due to the use of older aircraft, higher maintenance costs, additional engine leasing, and increased parts inventories. For the passenger, this does not automatically translate into a specific surcharge on the ticket, but it increases the overall cost base for airlines.

There is another indirect effect. When new, more economical aircraft are delayed, carriers operate older planes for longer. They may be completely safe and certified, but they usually require more maintenance and burn more fuel. This worsens the economics of flights, especially on routes with lower average fares or seasonal demand. As a result, airlines may be more cautious about opening new destinations, reduce frequencies on weaker routes, or concentrate aircraft where demand is strongest.

Which Routes May Be Most Sensitive

This topic is most significant for flights operated by next-generation narrow-body aircraft. These are not only short domestic flights. Airbus A320neo, A321neo, and Boeing 737 MAX are actively used on European, Middle Eastern, North American, Asian, and medium-haul resort routes. These aircraft are often used for flights to seaside destinations, island airports, secondary cities, and regional hubs.

The most sensitive routes may be those where the carrier has a small reserve fleet or limited frequency. If there is only one flight per day or a few flights per week between two cities, replacing the aircraft is more difficult than on a trunk route with dozens of daily departures. At the same time, large hubs are not immune: they have more alternatives, but also a higher schedule density, so cascading delays can quickly affect connections.

Before booking a complex route, it makes sense to evaluate not only the price but also the time buffer. If a flight arrives at London Heathrow, Frankfurt, Paris Charles de Gaulle, Amsterdam, Madrid, or Istanbul late in the evening, it is worth thinking of a backup plan in advance. For overnight or very early connections, it may be useful to check hotels near the airport, for example near LHR, FRA, or IST, especially if the trip does not allow for a delay to the next segment.

What IATA Proposes

IATA does not present the problem as something that can be solved with a single solution. The association speaks of several directions: increasing the availability of parts, accelerating the approval of repair solutions, wider use of serviceable parts from disassembled engines, fairer access for independent repair providers to the market, long-term guarantees for spare parts, and more transparent after-sales service principles.

A separate emphasis is placed on competition and access to certified alternatives. According to IATA's logic, safety should be determined by regulatory requirements and technical suitability, rather than a commercial desire to limit the repair market. If more certified workshops and suppliers gain access to information, tools, parts, and approved repair procedures, airlines will be able to return engines to service more quickly.

In a speech at the World Maintenance and Engineering Symposium, IATA also emphasized the role of data, digital systems, and artificial intelligence. For the passenger, this may sound remote, but the meaning is practical: airlines need better visibility into where a part is, what repair is possible, how long it will take to return the engine, and whether there is an alternative. The sooner a carrier understands the real term of a technical constraint, the better they can rebuild the schedule and fewer passengers will face sudden changes.

What Passengers Should Do in 2026

Most travelers cannot and should not analyze the engines of a specific aircraft before buying a ticket. It is much more useful to apply simple risk management rules. First, for important events, it is better to arrive a day early rather than on the last possible evening. Second, connections on separate tickets should be planned with a large buffer, as the airline is usually not responsible for a missed flight of another carrier if it is not a single ticket.

Third, it is advisable to carefully read the fare conditions. When the market is tense, flexibility becomes valuable: the ability to change the date, get a refund, or rebook without an excessive penalty is sometimes more important than the lowest starting price. Fourth, it is worth monitoring airline notifications and flight status not only on the day of departure, but also the day before, especially if the trip starts from a small airport or includes a short connection.

Special attention should be paid to travel insurance. A policy does not eliminate the delay, but it can cover part of the costs for hotels, meals, or new tickets if the conditions provide for such cases. Before purchasing, it is important to check whether the coverage extends to flight delays, missed connections, cancellations due to technical reasons, and costs associated with forced overnight stays.

Conclusion

IATA's warning about the shortage of maintenance for modern aircraft engines should be seen as a signal of structural tension in aviation, rather than a reason for panic. Aircraft remain under strict technical control, but airlines are operating in an environment where spare engines, parts, repair capacities, and new aircraft have become critically important resources. This can affect schedules, capacity, opening of routes, and prices, especially during peak demand periods.

For tourists, the main conclusion is simple: in 2026, it is worth planning air travel with a larger time buffer and relying less on perfectly precise connections. If the route is important, choose realistic connections, check online boards, maintain flexibility in fares, and have a backup scenario. Technical problems in the aviation industry are not always visible from the passenger seat, but they are increasingly determining how reliable a journey will be from booking to arrival.

Information Sources

• Official IATA release from June 24, 2026, regarding bottlenecks in the maintenance of LEAP and GTF engines.
• IATA Aviation Supply Chain page with an assessment of the impact of supply chain problems on airlines.
• IATA speech at the World Maintenance and Engineering Symposium in Madrid on June 24, 2026.
• Specialized aviation publications AeroTime and MRO Business Today on the findings of the IATA-Emerton study.