While Asia-Pacific is viewed as one of the world’s fastest-growing regions for air travel, it is falling behind in terms of airport buildup, hindering airlines from adding flights and expanding their networks.
In an analysis, the Centre for Aviation (CAPA) said airline capacity in Asia-Pacific has so far fallen flat this year in spite of the surge in travel demand.
CAPA said Asia-Pacific has recovered 100 percent of its capacity prior to the pandemic, but this is far from what other regions are achieving, such as Europe, which is 113 percent above 2019 levels.
Primarily, CAPA said airlines are finding it difficult to mount more flights in the absence of new airports. Fortunately, governments around the region are building new airports to enable carriers to expand capacity.
‘A big question is obviously whether there will be enough concrete for all of the new aircraft to land on. So the major airport developments underway in various parts of Asia and the Pacific are very important,’ CAPA said.
‘New airports are coming online in Delhi, Mumbai, Ho Chi Minh City and Sydney, with further projects in the pipeline in Manila,’ it added.
CAPA is referring to the P735.63-billion development of the New Manila International Airport in Bulacan, the first phase of which can handle 35 million passengers annually.
Moreover, the Ninoy Aquino International Airport is undergoing a P170.6-billion rehabilitation that seeks to raise its passenger capacity to 62 million per annum and aircraft movement to 48 an hour.
CAPA also warned that airlines have yet to recover all of their aircraft grounded by the shortage in aviation parts. There is an emerging concern, too, on supply constraint in workers, from pilots and flight attendants, to engineers and ground handlers.
Still, CAPA is confident that Asia-Pacific would hold out to maintain its growth. For one, aerospace giant Airbus forecasts Philippine air travel to go up by seven percent over the next 20 years, beating the global average of three percent.
‘In the shorter term, the main headache is still the supply chain crisis and the related issues in the engine heavy maintenance backlogs,’ CAPA said.
‘And then of course there are economic headwinds, such as cost of living increases, supplier cost rises and geopolitical trade tensions, but in the longer term, the vast potential for the Asia-Pacific region remains intact,’ it said.