The aircraft flame-retardant films market offers attractive growth opportunities in the entire ecosystem of the market in years to come. The market for aircraft flame-retardant films is forecasted to grow at an impressive rate over the next five years to reach an estimated value of US$ 331.1 million in 2024. Organic growth of aircraft production, rising aircraft fleet size, and stringent regulations regarding passenger safety are the primary drivers of flame-retardant films in the aircraft industry.
Airbus anticipated that there would be total deliveries of 37,390 aircraft worth US$ 5.8 trillion in the global marketplace during 2018-2037. Asia-Pacific and North America would be the biggest demand generators with a combined share of 59.4% of the total aircraft deliveries during the period. An expected healthy CAGR of 4.4% in air passenger traffic during 2018-2037 will chiefly drive the demand for new aircraft during this period. This factor will create a sustainable demand for flame-retardant films in the aircraft industry in the foreseeable future.
The Fire Research Program, initiated in 1993, is a long-range effort by the 1988 Aviation Safety Research Act with the goal of developing a fireproof aircraft cabin. The need for fireproof cabins is consistent with the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) National Aviation Research Plan to reduce aviation fatalities and injuries. As in previous studies, it was found that around 40% of fatalities in impact-survivable aircraft accidents are due to fire and smoke. Over the years, a lot of research was done on different materials by industry players, which led to the invention of flame-retardant films. A flame-retardant film is manufactured with the goal of reducing or eliminating aviation fatalities and injuries during the accident. These films act as a barrier for fire or flame penetrating the aircraft by displaying self-extinguishing properties. In case of a fire accident, these films slow down the rate of fire from further increasing. Flame-retardant films are majorly applied in the fuselage section of an aircraft where it is used with a thermal acoustic insulation system, which acts as a complete package for fire protection.