How passenger recovery masked Aviation’s supply chain fragility

By the fourth quarter of 2025, global aviation has largely completed its passenger recovery cycle. International traffic has returned to, and in some regions exceeded, pre-2019 levels. According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), global revenue passenger kilometres surpassed 2019 benchmarks during 2024, with capacity continuing to expand through 2025 as widebody fleets re-enter service.However, while passenger capacity has stabilised airline resilience remains uneven. Aircraft groundings linked to engine issues, extended timelines, and supply chain constraints continue to limit effective capacity. As a result, recovery in traffic has not translated uniformly into operational stability.Within this context, airfreight has taken on a more clearly defined role. No longer shaped primarily by crisis-driven surges, airfreight in 2025 functions as a stabilising system across aviation and aerospace. IATA continues to characterise air cargo as a backbone of global supply chain resilience, noting that airfreight carries roughly 35% of world trade by value while accounting for less than 1% by volume.For this article, Value Chain Asia speaks with industry experts from C.H. Robinson and Rotate to examine how airfreight is reshaping airline strategy and reinforcing stability across aviation in a post-recovery market.