IATA and IATP deepen cooperation to tackle airline supply chain challenges

The International Air Transport Association and the International Airlines Technical Pool have agreed to deepen cooperation aimed at improving airlines’ access to aircraft parts and easing pressure on maintenance operations, as the aviation sector continues to grapple with supply chain bottlenecks and rising costs.

According to the announcement, the two organisations will work together on two main fronts: widening access to serviceable aircraft materials and strengthening col...

laboration on technical, safety and quality matters. The partnership is intended to combine IATP’s long-standing pooling model with IATA’s technical expertise and digital tools, including its MRO SmartHub platform.

Stuart Fox, IATA’s director of flight and technical operations, said supply chain constraints were creating operational and financial strain for airlines and argued that the industry needed “practical cooperation” to respond. Giorgio Pietra, IATP’s chief executive, said the pooling model remained especially relevant in the current environment and described the tie-up as a recognition that resource sharing and digital visibility can work together to support operations during disruption.

The move comes against a difficult backdrop. In October 2025, IATA and Oliver Wyman published a study warning that delays across the commercial aircraft supply chain were forcing airlines to keep older aircraft in service for longer, with the industry facing costs of more than $11bn in 2025. The report pointed to a backlog of more than 17,000 aircraft in 2024 and called for better supply chain visibility, expanded repair and parts capacity, and improved standards for traceability.

IATA said the new cooperation would support IATP’s pooling programmes, giving airlines access to shared parts, equipment and maintenance capabilities, while MRO SmartHub would help improve visibility and valuation of available materials. The association is also making the core features of the platform available at no cost to airlines through a data participation programme, initially for eligible members of IATA, IATP and ALTA.

IATA said the upgraded SmartHub offers deeper analytics on materials availability, usage patterns and parts shortages, as well as access to confirmed serviceable inventories from accredited suppliers. The aim is to help airlines plan purchases more efficiently and make better use of pooled resources.

IATP, which was founded in 1948, says its network includes more than 140 member airlines and supports access to thousands of parts across hundreds of stations worldwide. Its pooling model also covers line maintenance and aircraft recovery support, which the organisation says helps airlines reduce costs and maintain dispatch reliability.

Essam Hanafy, IATP’s chairman and custodian, said the capabilities help airlines preserve fleet availability and continuity in a more difficult operating environment.

Source: Noah Wire Services