Each morning, I scan the front page of the newspaper to find an interesting first word for Wordle, the popular five-letter word game. (Forcing myself to start with a different selection each day makes it more fun and challenging.)

If you scan Inside MRO’s table of contents, words (not necessarily those with five letters) that stick out include “power,” “adjust,” “resurgent,” “invest,” “progress,” “challenge,” “disrupt,” “manage,” “cyber,” “modify” and “hydro­gen.” Except for “hydrogen” and “cyber” (we’ll get back to those), our MRO coverage includes those words frequently to describe our dynamic industry that is still riddled with supply chain, labor and pandemic recovery issues.

A big roadblock to the global aftermarket’s recovery was locked-down China. However, since the Chinese government recently dismantled its “zero-COVID” policies and opened its borders, traffic bookings have surged. This should invigorate aftermarket activity in the Asia-Pacific, assuming COVID-19 cases don’t skyrocket. For a look at the Chinese MRO market and effects of this year’s Chun Yun holiday travel, check the article on page MRO20.

Remember the beginning of the pandemic, when people scrambled to adjust forecasts and predict when “normal” would resume? In the second quarter of 2020, the worst-case scenarios of “normal” international traffic resuming in 2023 or even 2024 seemed hard to fathom. Could it really take that long?

As we start 2023, the latest figures from the International Air Transport Association show international revenue passenger kilometers in November rose 85.1% over the same month in 2021 and reached 73.7% of November 2019 levels. Domestic traffic rose 3.4% in November 2022 compared to the previous year and was 77.7% of that logged in November 2019.

The resumption of traffic has led to full MRO shops, which is good news, but now the problems plaguing the industry are parts and labor shortages. And unfortunately, it might take several years to resolve these.

Going back to hydrogen and cyber, this issue of Inside MRO debuts three new monthly features to provide evolving market insights: Data Tool, Engine Evolution and MRO Chat. The inaugural Engine Evolution on page MRO22 examines Airbus’ hydrogen and open-rotor programs. The first MRO Chat (page MRO21) features Collins Aerospace’s top cyberexec, Alexandra Landegger, with tips on how to make your assets more secure.

As she says, securing supply chains isn’t easy, but it’s easier than the alternative, right? I urge you to read this one-pager.

P.S. In case you missed it, check out our Top 10 MRO Predictions for 2023: AviationWeek.com/mro/supply-chain/mro-trends-look-2023