.avif)
Few industries face as many variables, from resource constraints to climatic shifts, as aviation. Right after your seatbelt is fastened, the sector must address soaring demand, unpredictable costs, and a workforce in flux. In 2025, global passenger revenue is projected to reach $693 billion, underscoring both the scale of opportunity and the complexity of keeping fleets operational and compliant.
To keep up with regulatory changes and consumer trends driven by the global economic downturn, commercial airlines must manage these hazards, many of which are still developing and emerging as you read this content.
As these challenges grow more complex, so does the burden of maintaining compliance and operational visibility across fleets. Airlines not only have to adapt operationally, but also ensure they meet FAA, EASA, and ICAO requirements around maintenance scheduling, inspections, and documentation. Falling short in any of these areas can lead to costly downtime, regulatory action, or reputational fallout.
This article will discuss the key aviation issues and threats that airlines are facing in 2025 and will highlight how SOMA software can combat many of these.
Before diving into the biggest threats facing aviation in 2025, it's important to understand what's at stake when compliance falters. Even seemingly minor lapses—ike a missed inspection interval, an overlooked Airworthiness Directive (AD), or an incomplete maintenance log—can have serious operational and financial consequences.
According to the FAA, failure to comply with mandatory maintenance actions or directives can result in civil penalties of up to $37,377 per violation per day. For fleet operators, this can quickly escalate into millions in fines, especially when compounded by downtime, reputational fallout, and potential certificate action. And these aren't hypothetical risks: regulators are tightening oversight, and audits are increasingly expecting real-time digital traceability across every component and task.
More often than not, these issues aren't the result of negligence—they're caused by fragmented systems, manual data entry, and disconnected workflows across teams. A missed logbook entry in one location can trigger a failed audit across the entire operation.
That's why compliance today isn't just a back-office function—it's a frontline defense against financial loss, aircraft groundings, and regulatory penalties.
In today's aviation industry, there are a few major threats that continue to pose issues. Whether it's the urgent need for qualified pilots, the risk of outdated or vulnerable technology infrastructure, or the unpredictability of climate patterns, these factors uniquely challenge airlines and airports across the globe.
Let's explore the major threats in air transport in 2025 and beyond.
Unfortunate examples in the aviation industry demonstrate how even the smallest failures in an airline's systems can have atrocious implications, both financially, regulatory, and brand image-wise.
For instance, Delta's network disruption in late January 2017 resulted in at least 270 aircraft cancellations and numerous delays, leading to a loss of over $100 million. This was due to an issue affecting their website and mobile apps. Southwest Airlines also experienced a router failure, resulting in cascading malfunctions in their systems, leading to the cancellation of 2,000 flights and costing the company between $54 million and $82 million in lost revenue and additional costs.
These incidents emphasize the importance of updating core systems for reliable, real-time operational continuity. With ongoing advances in data analytics, AI, and cloud computing, it's now more feasible than ever to implement these system upgrades.
The increasing demand for flights, coupled with a decrease in the number of qualified pilots, is creating a concerning pilot shortage. Boeing projects that in the next 20 years, the aviation industry will require 754,000 new maintenance technicians and 790,000 new pilots. Over the next ten years, more than 42% of airline pilots will retire, with 50% of all pilots at retirement age, posing a worrying situation.
Private aviation companies tend to recruit highly qualified pilots who were previously in the Air Force, but even the Air Force has a shortage of approximately 2,000 pilots as of late 2018. The most affected subsectors will be private and corporate airlines, as commercial airlines can often provide more competitive salaries and regular flight schedules.
Climate significantly affects the ability to maintain flight schedules on time. While airlines could predict some cancellations due to seasonality in the past, climate change has made planning almost useless. Global warming has led to more frequent and severe storms, resulting in more disruptions for travelers.
Extreme heat also poses a problem, as pilots cannot achieve enough lift for a safe takeoff. Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport saw 50+ flight cancellations during a single heatwave when temperatures exceeded 120°F.
Additionally, more volatile temperature changes and weather patterns are leading to more turbulence, with severe turbulence incidents increasing by approximately 55% over North Atlantic routes since 2000.
Airlines are under pressure to develop ways to be more fuel-efficient and reduce their carbon footprint, as the aviation industry is responsible for 2 to 5% of global emissions. This has prompted investments in sustainable aviation fuels (SAF), which can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 94% compared to conventional jet fuel, though they currently account for less than 0.1% of global jet fuel consumption. IATA has committed to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, requiring an estimated industry investment of $1.55 trillion in decarbonization initiatives.
As an additional threat beyond the core threats of pilot shortage, technological infrastructure risks, and climate change, around 30% of total expenses in the aviation sector are from fossil fuel consumption. Therefore, the volatility of oil prices is expected to have a significant commercial and logistical impact on the aviation sector. Airlines face substantial exposure to market fluctuations, with even minor price shifts affecting route profitability and network planning. When fuel costs spike unexpectedly, carriers must either absorb margin erosion or implement rapid fare increases that may reduce passenger demand.
Most major carriers apply hedging strategies to mitigate price volatility, which can backfire when markets move against locked-in positions, as happened during the pandemic, when hedged airlines couldn't capitalize on historically low prices. This unpredictability complicates long-term fleet planning and investment decisions around fuel-efficient aircraft.
In the past ten years, the price per barrel dropped from a peak of $126 in 2011 to a low of just $36 in 2016. While the cyclical nature of oil prices is not a new risk, rapid fluctuations have become more pronounced in recent decades and will remain a challenging risk exposure to manage.
It's estimated that an increase of just $1 per barrel of oil could cost the global airline industry an additional billion dollars per year.
Reputational damage in the aviation industry can have significant repercussions due to the highly visible and socially shared nature of incidents. Problems involving passengers, whether confrontations between passengers and crew or forced evictions, can spread quickly through social media and media channels, amplifying negative impacts.
These incidents highlight the importance of having a clear and effective communication response plan in place. Incidents can't always be avoided, but how a company responds can determine whether the story disappears in a day or has a long-term impact on the bottom line.
As an additional threat, the impact of a U.S. government shutdown on the aviation industry can be significant and multifaceted. During a shutdown, reduced availability of government employees and contractors can affect both the safety and efficiency of air operations. Financially, the government shutdown can lead to a decrease in business and leisure travel, affecting airline revenues.
While large-scale risks dominate headlines, many operational disruptions stem from small but critical compliance gaps. Missed inspection intervals, outdated documentation, or overlooked ADs can lead to grounded aircraft, regulatory penalties, or failed audits, all of which threaten uptime and safety.
These blind spots are often the result of fragmented tracking systems. When inspection records, task status, and compliance logs are spread across spreadsheets or disconnected tools, it's easy for important details to be missed. Staying compliant in 2025 means having a real-time, centralized view of regulatory tasks across your fleet.
Disconnected systems remain one of the most preventable causes of downtime in aviation. When maintenance, inventory, and procurement teams operate in silos (using different tools or manual processes) key tasks fall through the cracks. A scheduled repair may be delayed simply because a part wasn't available, or worse, never ordered.
These breakdowns don't just slow operations; they can also increase compliance risk. Manual communication and paper-based logs make it harder to track status accurately or respond quickly during audits. Integrated platforms like SOMA Software solve this by connecting departments in real time, reducing errors, and keeping aircraft airworthy and audit-ready.
Aviation's global supply chain continues to face mounting pressure from material shortages, vendor delays, and geopolitical instability. Aircraft parts, consumables, and specialized components are increasingly difficult to source on time, especially for operators managing aging fleets or diverse aircraft models.
When parts don't arrive as scheduled, routine maintenance can be delayed or rescheduled, increasing the risk of AOG (Aircraft On Ground) events and reduced fleet availability.
Without real-time inventory tracking and integrated procurement planning, operators may struggle to respond efficiently, often resorting to expensive last-minute sourcing or cannibalization of other aircraft. In 2025, building supply chain resilience is not just about sourcing; it's about visibility, forecasting, and readiness.
After several years of recovery, global passenger demand is now surging beyond pre-pandemic levels. ATA projects a 5.8% increase in RPKs (revenue passenger kilometers) in 2025, with load factors averaging around 84%. This unprecedented growth pressures maintenance schedules, compresses turnaround windows, and magnifies the impact of even minor disruptions. To stay reliable, airlines must bolster digital coordination across maintenance, operations, and documentation, ensuring that compliance and safety remain fast and seamless despite tighter constraints.
Increased flights mean tighter turnaround times, compressed maintenance windows, and a greater risk of delays due to unplanned issues. If maintenance workflows, inspections, and documentation aren't tightly coordinated, even a minor oversight can disrupt flight schedules and erode passenger trust. Airlines must scale their operations not only for volume, but for reliability and regulatory precision under pressure.
As aviation systems become more digitally integrated—from maintenance tracking platforms to in-flight Wi-Fi and e-ticketing—cybersecurity risks grow exponentially. Airlines now manage sensitive passenger data, operational flight plans, and interconnected aircraft systems, all of which can be targets for malicious actors.
Cyberattacks such as ransomware, data breaches, and service disruptions can compromise aircraft safety, erode customer trust, and trigger regulatory scrutiny. In November 2022, a ransomware attack on Jeppesen (a Boeing subsidiary that provides flight navigation and planning software) disrupted crucial systems used by airlines to file flight plans and access NOTAMs. This incident caused operational delays and highlighted how a cyber event can cripple both scheduling and safety-critical compliance processes.
Airlines must proactively implement multi-layered defenses, including network segmentation, endpoint monitoring, and incident response planning. Regular system audits, third-party risk assessments, and staff training are also critical to safeguarding operational continuity and regulatory compliance.
Operating across borders means complying with a patchwork of evolving international regulations. Airlines must align with the FAA, EASA, ICAO, and local civil aviation authorities—all of which may have different requirements for documentation, inspection intervals, or Airworthiness Directives.
Even slight misalignments—like applying the wrong AD to a specific aircraft tail number or missing a regional update—can result in failed audits, grounded aircraft, or denied entry into certain airspaces. These risks are magnified for airlines operating diverse fleets across multiple continents.
To stay compliant, aviation teams need centralized systems that track global requirements, sync regulation updates automatically, and translate them into aircraft-specific workflows. Real-time rule mapping and digital checklists can reduce the burden of global oversight while improving audit readiness.
As the aviation industry navigates a more complex and risk-filled landscape in 2025, staying ahead of disruptions requires more than reactive measures. From regulatory shifts to resource constraints, every threat to uptime or compliance represents a risk to safety, reputation, and revenue.
SOMA Software equips operators with the tools to meet these challenges head-on. By automating maintenance schedules, consolidating compliance data, and delivering real-time alerts, SOMA helps you simplify oversight and keep your fleet airworthy, no matter what lies ahead.
Ready to streamline your operations and reduce compliance risk? Book a demo with SOMA today.
