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KUALA LUMPUR: The Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) has called on governments to support the airline industry with regulations that enable growth rather than punish it.

AAPA warned that many of the rules imposed unnecessary burden on carriers despite the industry's strong performance and its role as a key economic driver.

AAPA director general Subhas Menon said governments should avoid measures that hinder airlines especially at a time when demand is strong but capacity remains constrained.

"Governments are not coming up with regulations that enable the industry but rather challenging the industry.

"For example, we talk about the principle of protection regulations following the EU261. That's a very dangerous precedent," he said at a media briefing at AAPA's 69th Assembly of Presidents conference.

The event brought together airline leaders, manufacturers, and industry partners to address key industry priorities, including supply chain resilience, sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) deployment and enhancing manpower resilience.

The EU261 is a regulation on compensation and assistance for air travellers in the event of denied boarding, flight cancellations, or long flight delays.

The regulation applies to passengers whose flight departs from an EU airport and flight that arrives at an EU airport from a non-EU country.

Another concern is the taxes and charges imposed on airlines without a clear purpose on why these are collected.

"So, what are they going to do? We collect money from airline passengers, and are they going to put it into infrastructure, or what?" Subhas said.

He added that the AAPA is also calling on governments to adopt the International Civil Aviation Organisation-approved SAF accounting and registry systems.

This would allow airlines to receive proper credit for SAF usage even if they purchase the biofuel outside their home countries.

AAPA member airlines remains committed to a targeted usage of five per cent of SAF by 2030.

AAPA also urged the governments to harmonise regulations on the carriage and use of lithium batteries onboard by passengers.

The current inconsistent rules across airlines and countries confuse travellers and create safety risks.

"There is no harmonisation of the standards and requirements. Airlines are left to their own devices, and each airline is doing their own thing, so which is very confusing to passengers," Subhas said.

On aviation supply chains, AAPA urged the governments to invest in expanding maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) capacity as well as the liberalisation of the aftermarket for aircraft parts and components.

Looking ahead, AAPA remains confident with the region's air transport growth in 2026 driven by resilient economies and strong passenger and cargo demand.

"Both air travel and air cargo demand are very buoyant. And what is amazing is that for cargo, because one would expect that with all the trade tensions, cargo will be the most directly impacted. But cargo is also doing very well," Subhas said.

He added that AAPA member airlines registered strong international air traffic performance despite continuous geopolitical and trade tensions.

International passenger traffic for Asia Pacific carriers increased 10 per cent in the first nine months of 2025, while air cargo demand expanded seven per cent, outpacing global averages.

"Asia Pacific airlines continue to demonstrate agility in managing supply chain constraints with capacity growth keeping pace with demand," Subhas said.