Asia Pacific aviation – ensuring the system is working on time

The rapid recovery of passenger traffic during 2022 also saw a spike in operational disruptions globally - leading to queues in airports, delays and cancellations for airlines and disgruntled travellers.

With the Asia Pacific undergoing a slower traffic recovery, these problems have not been as pronounced for much of the region.

However, with supply chains disrupted and labour markets upended, airlines have still struggled to get things right on the operational front.

As traffic continues to build and some markets push beyond pre-pandemic levels, the performance of the regional air travel sector remains under pressure.

Airlines and airports will need to work with the public sector providers to ensure that the system is robust and able to handle both peak volumes and interrupted and irregular operations.

This was the topic of a panel discussion at the CAPA Asia Aviation Summit in Kuala Lumpur Brisbane at the start of Nov-2023.

The session was moderated by CAE, Head of Sales (Asia), Vivian Dsouza and included Malaysia Airports, COO, Gordon Stewart; Japan Airlines, Senior Research Fellow, Industry-Academia Research and Cooperations, Yoguchi Akihide; SITA, Vice President Airports, Borders, Communications & Data Exchange, Sanjeev K; Batik Air, Group Strategy Director, Chandran Rama Muthy; and Oliver Wyman, Partner; Head of Transportation & Services, Asia Pacific Region, Douglas Carlucci

Some of the topic areas covered included:

• What operational lessons have Asia Pacific carriers drawn from the experience of the last few years?
• How have regulators and aviation authorities acting to ensure their own performance matches the demands of the system?
• With digitalisation and automation on the rise, how are these technologies enabling airports, airlines and the supply chain to enhance their operational performance?
• What are the key areas of concern in the long term?
• Is infrastructure, workforce, public-private interaction or something else the key concern?
• What are the bottlenecks that remain in the system?