IATA WSOC: Aviation remains resilient during unrest in the Middle East

Walsh was joined by Royal Air Maroc CEO, Abdelhamid Addou, in a press briefing at this this year’s IATA World Safety and Operations Conference (WSOC) which was held in Marrakech from 1-3 October.

Key concerns currently impacting the industry include geopolitical impacts, such as the unrest in the Middle East, the Ukraine-China-US tensions and the closure of airspace. GPS jamming and spoofing were also highlighted as significant threats, with a noted increase in this activity over the past few years, while ongoing supply chain challenges continue to affect growth in the industry.

“While the industry continues to recover from the global pandemic and although passenger traffic is ahead of where it was in 2019, there are ongoing challenges that are disrupting operations,” said Walsh.

“Geopolitical tensions have a huge impact on the industry. The war on Ukraine and now Israel’s attack on Gaza and Lebanon, but elsewhere there’s unrest between China and the US,” he added.

“These challenges all have an ongoing impact on safe and efficient operations for the industry, but stakeholders remain resilient and are taking all the appropriate measures to protect the industry and customers from any external threats.

“As an industry, we don’t compete when it comes to safety and security, we collaborate. But the industry works best when the skies are open to everyone. Airspace closure is not in the interests of an efficient airline ecosystem,” he continued.

Royal Air Maroc’s Addou added, “there is a human as well as an environmental cost to geopolitical instability. As airlines we need to protect ourselves for the years to come, while finding a way to overcome these challenges now.”

Commenting on the supply chain challenges, Walsh noted that “supply chain issues are delaying aircraft production and delivery, putting pressure on airlines and will continue to affect industry growth in the short term, but in the long-term we are told that manufacturers and the supply chain issues will be resolved and we will back to a more stable environment.” 

Addou added, “In terms of there being a shortage of new aircraft on the market, we are also looking to lease aircraft.” The airline is currently in the process of an ambitious fleet expansion programme, which will see the fleet increase from 50 to 200 aircraft by 2037.

Amid the challenges facing the industry, AI, machine learning and leveraging of data were highlighted as opportunities to enhance operations and training, while wider cooperations, collaboration and sharing of information were underlined as being key to help the industry navigate the current challenges.