SITA says software, not airports, will power aviation growth

The future of aviation lies in software. So says a new impact report from SITA, which reflects on 2025 as “a year of customer-led change in global travel,” and looks to the future in the context of a predicted doubling in airline passengers.

The key question is how to add capacity using technology, rather than building new airports and travel infrastructure. Efficiencies in customs and border procedures, baggage and communications can help ease the pressure that rises as numbers increase. Solutions are being developed out of necessity: IATA predicts that airline travel will hit 10 billion passengers by 2050.

Drastically reduced wait times for border clearance are a major biometrics win. But the transformation applies across the flight journey. SITA says its SITA OptiFlight tool “uses machine learning and digital-twin modeling to recommend fuel-efficient climb and cruise profiles to pilots; in 2025 it processed 2.9 million flights for 59 airline customers, saving 127,732 tons of fuel and the equivalent of 403,633 tons of CO₂.”

Total Airport Management tools can help orchestrate the airport journey – even after it’s done. SITA WorldTracer Auto Reflight includes AI-driven routing that automatically rebooks mishandled bags onto the next viable flight, cutting reconciliation from three minutes to one second.

David Lavorel, CEO of SITA, says “airports are scaling capacity within the buildings they already have. Governments are clearing borders before passengers ever reach the queue. AI is moving out of pilots and into the operations rooms where flights are run. None of this is one company’s achievement; it belongs to the airlines, airports, governments and partners doing the work together as a unit.”

The path to digitization is proving to be financially sound for SITA; the firm reports that revenue grew 7 percent to $1.71 billion in 2025, the fourth consecutive year of 7 to 8 percent growth.

Biometric airport projects gather pace worldwide

Airport security operations are set to witness changes in Germany, Thailand, and Somalia as the wave of AI and biometrics for passenger identification gathers steam. The changes are prompted by the quest to streamline checks, enhance the safety of passengers, and prevent criminal activities that transit through airports.

Over the years, biometrics for airport processing has been gaining ground with a growing number of deployments across the world.

In the Middle East, many countries such as Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar are also said to be switching to or enhancing existing biometric AI-driven systems for faster airport processes as passenger numbers continue to peak, with figures projected at almost 240 million in the course of this year.

Legal framework soon for digital check-ins in Germany

Germany’s parliament has paved the way for a bill that seeks to allow the capture of data from travelers’ passports or ID cards to be used for passenger check-ins at airports, as well as facial recognition for authentication.

Authorities say the legal framework, which had been cleared by cabinet in April, will not only lead to efficient infrastructure but also make airport operations faster and safer, according to Die Zeit.

The legislation requires that such data capture, either via a mobile application or a self-service kiosk, must be deleted no more than three hours after departure. The digital check-in process will be voluntary and is initially available to citizens of the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland.

The Germany move signals the delegation of identity management, a trend that represents the progressive shift of identity verification from state-controlled and document-based processes to data-driven, automated systems managed by private companies.

Critics have however raised concerns about the trust deficit of the new system.

Thailand to tighten airport checks against drug smuggling

Thai authorities have announced that stricter airport measures, including AI-based biometrics, will be deployed across airports in the country to check the growing spiral of drug trafficking. The Nation reports that the country’s Transport Ministry is overhauling airport operations in order to close existing security gaps.

Stakeholders recently met on how to deploy measures which the government hopes can drastically curb the phenomenon of drug trafficking via international flights in the short, medium, and long terms.

According to authorities, passengers and crew members alike will go through the same rigorous biometric checks as a short-term measure.

In the future, they agreed to use Passenger Name Record (PNR) data for risk analysis, link databases between customs, immigration, and other agencies, and introduce biometrics into the baggage check-in process.

The country is currently running a pilot aimed at streamlining immigration processes through an app and web-based platform called THIM.

Obligatory biometric verification for domestic travel in Somalia

Somali government authorities have made it mandatory for everyone on domestic flights to go through biometric identity verification, FTL reports.

With the new policy, everyone must present their national ID card before being issued a ticket or allowed to board. It builds on an earlier measure announced by the federal government as part of efforts to strengthen aviation security in the country.

Those who don’t have an ID can register directly at airports thanks to biometric enrollment posts set up through a collaboration between the National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA) and the Immigration Agency.

This new development adds to an expanding list of services with which the Somalia digital ID has been integrated.

Qatar expands SITA facial biometrics at Hamad airport

Qatar Airways has added Fast Pass facial recognition lanes at Hamad International Airport, with tech provided by SITA. The airport says passengers can create a biometric profile on check-in, which can then be referenced for automated bag drop and security clearance.

Activation can be accomplished via pre-registration, or directly at airport biometric kiosks for same-day travel. For kiosk registration, personal biometric data of users is deleted after 24 hours. App registrations store biometric data on-device.

The airline says the service is one of the largest biometric passenger rollouts of its kind in the Middle East.

Article Topics

ABC gates  |  airport biometrics  |  biometrics  |  contactless biometrics  |  digital travel  |  identity verification  |  SITA