Philippine Airlines EVP: 'Staggering' aviation growth to create workforce challenges

Philippine Airlines EVP and COO Carlos Luis Fernandez, speaking at the CAPA Airline Leader Summit Asia, commented (31-Oct-2025) on projections for air traffic, stating: "The growth that is being projected... is staggering, particularly for the Asia Pacific region". Mr Fernandez said securing sufficient manpower to support the demand will be challenging. He noted that the global industry is forecast to need one million new aviation professionals in the next 20 years and Southeast Asia will account for around one quarter of that demand.