DUBLIN, Oct 16 (Reuters) - Delivery delays from

planemakers Airbus and Boeing ( BA ) are "massively

frustrating" and are not yet getting better, the head of the

global airline body IATA said on Wednesday.

A number of Europe's leading airlines bemoaned the resulting

capacity constraints at a conference in Brussels, with Ryanair

saying it would have to revise down its passenger

traffic estimates for next year because of the delays.

"It's massively frustrating for airline CEOs and it's having

a big impact," International Air Transport Association Director

General Willie Walsh told an Irish think-tank.

"It's going to be a problem I think for a number of years to

come. The message I get from airline CEOs is the situation

doesn't look like it's getting any worse, so it seems to have

bottomed out or plateaued, but it's not yet getting better."

Boeing ( BA ) and Airbus have been struggling to meet delivery

goals amid supply chain challenges. An ongoing strike at Boeing ( BA )

has raised concerns about worsening delays at the U.S.

planemaker amid a broader crisis around its safety reputation.

The European airlines urged Brussels to do more to secure a

level playing field in the industry, complaining that Chinese

rivals enjoy a huge cost advantage because they can fly over

Russia.

A number of carriers, including IAG-owned British Airways

and Lufthansa, recently cancelled their

routes to Beijing as they struggle with competition from Chinese

airlines on Europe-Asia routes.

Walsh, a former head of IAG, said that to the best of his

knowledge, the European Union did not have any way to retaliate

against Chinese carriers, for example, who are flying through

Russian airspace.

"Our view, from IATA point of view, is Russian airspace

should be open to everybody. This is a political issue. It's not

a security or safety issue," he told Dublin's Institute of

International and European Affairs.

"I can understand why the airlines are calling for it, but I

can't see any particular instrument available to address that."