Workforce and Supply Chain Remain Stubborn Challenges

General aviation is posting record billings and riding a multiyear surge in demand, but the sector’s ability to sustain that momentum depends on solving two persistent problems: a shrinking skilled workforce and a supply chain that remains more fragile than anyone would like. That was the central message from GAMA president and CEO James Viola and a panel of senior industry executives at the association’s 2026 State of the Industry press conference on February 18 in Washington, D.C.

“The industry feels very healthy,” said Ron Draper, president and CEO of Textron Aviation as well as GAMA chairman, who noted that strong sales and healthy backlogs are the norm across OEMs. “There’s a lot of customers turning to our types of products for different needs in their businesses.”

Nicolas Chabbert, CEO of Daher Aircraft, echoed that sentiment, adding that the market is “reacting extremely well” to new products and that billings continue to set records.

The economic stakes are considerable. In the U.S., general aviation supports $339 billion in total economic output and 1.3 million jobs, according to GAMA. In Europe, business aviation contributes €100 billion in economic impact and 449,000 jobs. Viola also highlighted a significant recent policy win: in November, EU finance ministers failed to reach an agreement on an energy tax directive that would have imposed a 40-cent-per-liter tax on jet fuel used by general and business aviation aircraft. “This is an important win,” Viola said, while cautioning that the industry must continue monitoring evolving EU-level and country-specific tax schemes for similar threats.

A Strong Market, but Not Without Limits

Despite the positive headlines, supply-chain stress remains a daily operational reality. Chabbert was blunt about the situation at Daher: “We find ourselves spending a great deal of time every day to push and get our stuff so we can deliver on time—and even then, we’re missing a few deliveries.” He described a compounding series of post-Covid disruptions: first labor shortages, then raw material crises, and now new categories of supply constraints arriving before previous ones are fully resolved. Adding to the difficulty, he noted, is an inflationary dynamic in which costs are rising without commensurate gains in supplier performance.

Phil Straub, executive vice president and managing director of Garmin’s aviation division, said demand on the avionics and aftermarket side is “robust,” with customers eager to invest in safety and efficiency technologies. However, that demand is running up against capacity constraints. “At the lower end, [we’re] probably three months booked out,” Straub said, “but some of the higher end can be close to a year.” He cited broadband installations as one specific factor affecting capacity.

Draper framed the supply-chain challenge as inseparable from the workforce problem. When manufacturers trace supply disruptions back to their root causes, he said, “sometimes it’s a technical problem, but often it comes down to a workforce or labor problem—where facilities consolidated, folks retired, and now they have new folks they’re trying to train and the yield isn’t as good.” GAMA’s Aerospace Supply Chain Task Force released recommendations at the end of 2024 aimed at supporting stability and long-term competitiveness, but structural fixes will take time.

Racing against Demographics

The workforce challenge runs deeper than near-term hiring gaps. Across North America and Europe, demographic trends are working against the industry. Skilled tradespeople—machinists, electricians, A&P mechanics—are retiring faster than they can be replaced, and the pipeline of qualified candidates has not kept pace with demand. “In many of those supply-chain companies, that workforce is aging and retiring,” Draper said. “It takes highly skilled and talented people to build these machines, and it takes sometimes years to really learn a craft or a trade.”

OEMs are responding with a variety of programs aimed at reaching potential workers earlier in their education. Textron Aviation has built one of the more comprehensive pipelines: the company brings in 160 to 170 high school interns annually, paying them for six weeks of hands-on exposure to various job functions. It also targets military veterans and recently opened a $40 million career training center—a simulated factory environment where workers with no prior experience can spend 10 or more weeks learning their specific job classification before setting foot on the production floor.

Airbus Helicopters in North America has taken a similar approach through a program called Flight Path 9, developed originally within the company’s commercial division and now extended to high schoolers and recent graduates. “We’re partnering with the local university for those basic manufacturing skills—measurements, sheet metal, wire harness building, all those technical skills,” said Teri Short, vice president of flight operations and engineering for Airbus Helicopters in North America.

Students who complete the course and pass the required testing are guaranteed a position in the company’s apprenticeship program. Short added that Airbus is also targeting middle schoolers with STEM outreach, with a particular emphasis on drawing more women into the field.

At Daher, Chabbert pointed to the company’s apprenticeship program as its single most effective recruiting tool. Apprentices now account for roughly 12% of the company’s workforce, and more than 80% of those hires stay with the company long-term—a retention rate Chabbert called the “best source of hiring” available. Daher also runs an international internship exchange program, bringing American students to France and European students to U.S. facilities. Chabbert made a direct appeal to the journalists in the room to help amplify the message: “This industry is very diversified—you can find almost a job for any skills or ambition, and this is a high-paid kind of industry. Anything that can relay the message is important.”

Straub noted that Garmin is involved with the Women of Aviation Worldwide Week, offering flights to roughly 40 to 50 young women annually and providing flight training incentive programs. “I think for people that want to go into this industry—whether you’re an engineer, pilot, or technician—there’s a lot of opportunity," he said. “We’re working with the latest and newest technology, and I think it’s a good career.”

Environmental Goals Hold Firm

Despite a shifting regulatory environment in Washington, industry leaders said their environmental commitments remain unchanged. “We haven’t backed off our goals,” Draper said. “Our footprint is already very small, and our goal is to get it smaller, or eventually eliminate it if possible.”

Viola noted that efficiency improvements have been a constant driver for the industry regardless of the policy backdrop, and that sustainable aviation fuel remains a critical lever for meeting the industry’s 2050 environmental goals.

Chabbert cautioned against expecting transformation overnight, stressing that aviation moves through incremental steps and is meeting its goals one by one. He also highlighted an often-overlooked contributor to emissions reduction: air traffic management. Greater ATC efficiency, he argued, could account for roughly 20% of the sector’s CO2 reductions, making it a systemic opportunity that extends well beyond engine design or fuel type.

AAM Moves from Strategy to Action

Advanced air mobility continued to generate enthusiasm at the briefing, with several concrete policy and program developments to report. In December, the AAM interagency working group established by Congress—through legislation championed by GAMA—released a national strategy and comprehensive plan focused on integrating new AAM technologies into the National Airspace System.  The U.S. Department of Transportation has also formed an eVTOL Integrated Pilot Program, a public-private partnership designed to gather real-world operational data and demonstrate the viability of AAM platforms. Several GAMA members have already applied to participate alongside local community sponsors.

On the operational side, Airbus Helicopters offered one of the more concrete examples of autonomous aviation technology advancing from concept to hardware. Short described the company’s MQ-72C, a fully autonomous logistics connector being developed for the U.S. Marine Corps. Now in its second year of a rapid development program, the aircraft has already completed fully autonomous flights. 

“We’re really excited about bringing that capability to the space with the military, validating our design,” Short said, adding that the platform is seen as a foundation for broader commercial and logistics applications as AAM technology matures.

The FAA has also restructured to better address the coming wave of new aviation technologies. Three weeks before the GAMA briefing, the U.S. Department of Transportation and the FAA unveiled a reorganization that includes a new Advanced Aviation Technologies office, an aerospace modernization office to oversee ATC system upgrades, and a new safety oversight office to implement a unified safety management system. Viola called the changes promising, expressing hope that “these strategically focused changes bring efficiencies and stabilization to the agency.”

Looking ahead, the industry’s leaders appear clear-eyed about what sustained growth will require: replenishing the skilled workforce, shoring up supply chains that have proven more brittle than expected, and laying the infrastructure—both regulatory and physical—to welcome a new generation of aircraft into the national airspace.