AAPA Chief Urges Governments To Ease Fuel Crisis

The fuel crisis is the single biggest problem facing Asia-Pacific carriers right now, and governments are not yet listening closely enough. That is the message from Wong Hong, the new Director General of the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA), in an interview with AeroTime conducted on the sidelines of IATA’s Annual General Meeting in Rio de Janeiro in June 2026.

“The top priority is the fuel crisis. I hope the governments start listening and that they listen carefully,” Wong said. “The airline members’ common concern is now, ‘Do governments really understand the challenge this crisis represents?’”

A crisis the industry did not create

The disruption stems from military conflict in the Middle East, which was still ongoing at the time of the interview. Several countries in the region have restricted fuel exports to their neighbours to preserve stocks, and some airlines have responded by cancelling flights or imposing fuel surcharges. Wong’s argument is that because the cause sits outside aviation, governments have both the standing and the tools to soften the blow.

What he is asking for is temporary, and specific. “Maybe for a three-to-six-month period, for example, certain airport fees can be reduced or landing, parking, air navigation charges, or collecting taxes,” he suggested. He was equally clear about what AAPA is not requesting: “You cannot subsidize; we’re not asking to subsidize the airlines. That’s not the point.” His warning about the timeline was blunt — “We all hope that the fuel price crisis will be over but if it’s going to be around for the next two years, it’s going to be a big problem, a very serious problem.”

SAF: a pathway with no supply

The fuel squeeze collides with the industry’s decarbonisation targets. Wong pointed to the latest reports on Sustainable Aviation Fuel usage, which place its share of total fuel consumption below 1% — evidence, he said, of slow progress. “Even if airlines say they want to do the right thing, if they can’t get enough SAF, it’s a problem. It’s not just Asia-Pacific, it’s the whole world.”

AAPA members have set a target of 5% SAF by 2030. “But when we are sitting down, here in 2026, and we cannot even hit 1%, it gets more challenging, right?” Wong said. “This means that supply must increase a lot, or the price must come down, because it is very expensive.” He is sceptical that mandates alone will fix it: if the price an airline must pay is not viable, “then it doesn’t make sense… I will only fly to those points in which I can still make money, but it’s a lose-lose.” His preferred lever is supply-side incentives so producers can scale up, with the caveat that the final price still has to be one passengers will accept: “If you used to pay US$500 to travel, will you pay US$1,600?”

National approaches vary widely across the region. Singapore plans to collect a levy from travellers and use the proceeds to buy SAF; Thailand, Wong noted, has established SAF policies and brought suppliers, airports, regulators and airlines together around a common goal. He also argued the energy sector must carry more of the load: “It’s not only just civil aviation, but also the Ministry of Energy or its equivalent… We are just using the fuel; we buy it and then use it.”

Backlogs, batteries and a light-touch association

Beyond fuel, Wong singled out the aircraft and engine backlog as a persistent drag. “The backlog is getting worse! We are years after COVID-19 and we’re still talking about the same problems.” Safety remains a core focus, with lithium-battery fires among the latest areas of attention — an issue he framed as collective rather than competitive, and one AAPA is pushing through ICAO in the hope of harmonised rules.

Wong took over as Director General on April 1, 2026, succeeding Subhas Menon, who had led AAPA since 2020. He joined from Delta Air Lines, where he ran the airline’s China and Singapore operations, after senior roles at SATS and IATA. As of June 2026 the association’s 18 member airlines include Japan Airlines, Air New Zealand, Qantas, Singapore Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Air India and Air Astana, coordinated from a modest office in Kuala Lumpur. “What we are trying to do is to punch above our weight,” Wong said.

Sources: AeroTime. Featured image: AI-generated by AviationShop. By Elena Vargas.