SITA’s 2025 Air Transport IT Insights report finds that, while the air transport industry invested a record $50.8 billion in technology in 2025, a common obstacle keeps emerging: where data does not flow freely between systems and partners, that investment cannot fully deliver what it was designed to unlock.
- +Why aviation’s record $50bn tech spend hinges on data integration
- +Operational reliability has become a direct driver of financial performance
The cost of this data coordination gap is higher than ever now that the conflict in the Middle East continues to disrupt the industry at a global scale.
The cost of this data coordination gap is higher than ever now that the conflict in the Middle East continues to disrupt the industry at a global scale. Operators investing in closing that gap are building foundations that will outlast the current disruption.
“We are publishing this research at a moment when the industry is under significant pressure. Across every area we measured, the same constraint emerges: where data does not flow freely across systems and partners, investment cannot fully deliver what it was designed to unlock.
“That constraint carries a higher cost today, but also a clear opportunity to emerge stronger.” said David Lavorel, CEO of SITA.
Airlines and airports are increasing their investment in IT. In 2025, airlines committed $36 billion, or 3.6 percent of revenue, while airports raised their spend to $14.8 billion, representing 7.3 percent of revenue, up from 6.4 percent the previous year.
The reason is consistent across both: 83 percent of airlines and 89 percent of airports say data-driven decision-making is a strategic priority, a clear signal that the industry is actively building the operational foundations it believes resilience depends on.
Operational reliability has become a direct driver of financial performance
When operations run close to capacity, disruption carries a direct financial cost. Flight delays alone account for $30 billion of total industry revenue, according to IATA.
Improving the predictions and response to disruption is key, which is why data integration is starting to be actively addressed: 46 percent of airlines are upgrading their flight operations systems to make information consistent and accessible across flight, crew, aircraft and passenger systems in real time.
The goal is to give operational teams the shared picture they need to intervene earlier, before a single delay becomes a network problem. Yet 49 percent of airlines identify data integration and consistency as the primary barrier to achieving this. When information is fragmented across systems, the window for early intervention closes before it can be used.
AI stands to deliver the most value when it coordinates decisions across multiple systems at once.
Early AI deployments in aviation focused on individual systems: predictive alerts, route optimization, maintenance forecasting.
The shift now underway is more significant. Sixty-three percent of airlines use AI in operations control to manage disruption, aircraft assignment and crew availability simultaneously, evaluating recovery options across multiple constraints at once before recommending actions. Seventy-nine percent name generative AI and large language models as their top investment priority for the next 12 months, a signal that ambition is running well ahead of current deployment.
AI is used most confidently when using it within a single system. It is used least where decisions require consistent data from multiple partners: only 17 percent of airlines use AI to monitor turnaround activity in real time.
Airports are moving to close that gap, with 53 percent now applying AI to aircraft turnaround, up from 36 percent in 2024. But the ceiling on AI’s impact is not capability. It is data alignment.
“Aviation is deploying AI with real ambition. But the survey is clear: the primary barrier to maximizing that investment is the lack of data integration across the operation. The technology is there. The data infrastructure to connect it often is not.,” added Lavorel.
Cybersecurity now protects shared operational data, not just individual platforms
As airlines and airports connect more systems across operations, passengers and partners, the exposure from a cyber incident has changed.
A breach would no longer affect a single platform. It risks affecting the accuracy and availability of the shared data that operations depend on: gate changes, turnaround status, and passenger information. Seventy-one percent of airports now rank cybersecurity as their top overall IT focus area, and 68 percent name it as the primary driver of infrastructure upgrades.
The industry is responding: 64 percent of airports are already applying AI in cybersecurity to detect anomalies earlier and reduce response times, up from 51 percent in 2024.
Digital identity solutions are scaling fast, but coordination remains the primary constraint.
