IATA: in March 2025, 648 aircraft with GTF engines were grounded, 28% of the fleet
The International Air Transport Association (IATA), together with consulting firm Emerton, released a study in Madrid on bottlenecks in maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) of CFM's LEAP and Pratt & Whitney's GTF engines. According to the study, the number of grounded aircraft with GTF engines peaked in March 2025, when 648 of them, or 28% of the fleet, were waiting for servicing, a replacement engine or parts.
The study, titled Single Aisle Aircraft Engines MRO: Strategic Levers to Address Supply Chain Challenges, describes how supply chain problems are affecting airline operations. Key causes include shorter engine on-wing life, limited access to the repair market outside manufacturers, and insufficient capacity for engine shop visits, which according to IATA makes maintenance planning more complicated for carriers.
- Publisher
- IATA and Emerton
- Release location
- Madrid
- Engines
- CFM LEAP, P&W GTF
- Peak GTF groundings
- 648 aircraft, 03/2025
- Share of grounded GTF fleet
- 28%
Affected airlines therefore had to adjust their fleet plans - for example, keeping older aircraft in service longer, extending leases, leasing additional aircraft, or cutting capacity.
IATA expects engine maintenance issues to grow further as fleets of the newest-generation aircraft expand. In 2024, a total of 2,000 engines for single-aisle aircraft were delivered, including 800 GTF units and 1,200 LEAP units. Between 2030 and 2040, deliveries are expected to stabilize at around 3,700 engines a year, including 1,200 GTF and 2,500 LEAP.
According to the study, accelerating engine deliveries will significantly increase maintenance demand. The number of annual LEAP engine shop visits is expected to rise from around 600-800 in 2025 to more than 5,000 by 2040. For GTF engines, shop visits are expected to increase from around 1,000 to more than 2,000 per year.
IATA Director General Willie Walsh said that engine MRO problems are disrupting airline operations and will keep worsening without significant changes as fleets of the newest-generation aircraft grow. He said manufacturers are investing in additional capacity, but increased capacity alone will not be enough - according to Walsh, airlines need better access to spare parts, more approved repair options, fair access to MRO capacity, and greater competition in the aftermarket. Solving today's operational problems is an immediate priority, Walsh said, but the industry's long-term resilience will depend on a more transparent, more competitive and more collaborative aftermarket - which is why, he said, business models between aircraft and engine manufacturers need to be reassessed to better support operational resilience throughout the aircraft's lifecycle, with the goal of returning engines to service faster and limiting unnecessary operational disruption.
Proposed measures
- Increase spare parts availability - speed up repair development and approval, expand licensed production of key components, and make greater use of refurbished parts from disassembled engines.
- Ensure fair access to the MRO market - remove barriers preventing independent MRO firms from accessing parts, repair information and tools.
- Ensure long-term access to spare parts - include provisions in aircraft and engine purchase contracts for predictable spare parts pricing, including rights that airlines can transfer to their chosen MRO providers.
- Establish common best practices across the industry - so that all engine, airframe and component manufacturers support a transparent and competitive aftermarket and the use of approved alternative parts and repairs.
As an example of a step toward fairer access to the MRO market, the study cites the 2018 agreement between IATA and CFM, renewed in January 2026, which IATA says includes a model for supporting customer choice, regulatory-approved non-original parts and repairs, and fair access for independent MRO providers.
Meeting these priorities, according to IATA, will require a coordinated approach across the entire aviation supply chain - airlines, aircraft and engine manufacturers, MRO providers and leasing companies must work together to improve parts availability, expand repair options, and better align engine maintenance capacity with carriers' operational needs.