SITA says fragmented data hinders aviation tech spend
SITA has published its annual Air Transport IT Insights report, which says aviation technology spending reached USD $50.8 billion in 2025.
Airlines accounted for USD $36 billion of that total, equal to 3.6% of revenue, while airports spent USD $14.8 billion, or 7.3% of revenue. The report identifies a recurring problem limiting the return on that investment: operational data often does not move smoothly between systems and organisations.
That issue runs through several of the industry's current priorities, including artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, digital identity and sustainability. Progress tends to be strongest where a single operator controls both the data and the decision-making, and weaker where information must be shared across airlines, airports, ground handlers and other partners.
David Lavorel, Chief Executive Officer of SITA, said the research was published at a time of mounting pressure on the sector.
"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."
Operational strain
The report links technology spending to a wider effort to make operations more resilient at a time of disruption. It points to continuing conflict in the Middle East as an added strain on global aviation and notes that the cost of fragmented information is rising as operators work close to capacity.
SITA cites IATA figures showing that flight delays account for USD $30 billion in lost industry revenue. In response, 46% of airlines are upgrading flight operations systems so information can be shared in real time across flight, crew, aircraft and passenger systems.
Even so, 49% of airlines said data integration and consistency remained the main obstacle. When information is split across separate systems, the report warns, operators lose the chance to act early enough to prevent a local delay from becoming a wider network issue.
AI focus
Artificial intelligence is one of the clearest examples of that divide. SITA found that 63% of airlines now use AI in operations control to manage disruption, aircraft assignment and crew availability, while 79% said generative AI and large language models were their top investment priority over the next 12 months.
Use is lower where decisions depend on aligned information from different organisations. Only 17% of airlines use AI to monitor turnaround activity in real time, although airports are expanding their use in that area, with 53% applying AI to aircraft turnaround, up from 36% in 2024.
Lavorel said the main limit on AI adoption was not the software itself but the quality and consistency of the data feeding it.
"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."
Security and identity
The same pattern appears in cybersecurity, where shared operational data has become a more valuable target as more systems are linked together. A cyber incident now risks affecting information used across the operation, including gate changes, turnaround status and passenger records, rather than damaging only a single platform.
Among airports, 71% ranked cybersecurity as their leading IT focus area, while 68% said it was the main driver of infrastructure upgrades. SITA found that 64% of airports are already using AI in cybersecurity to detect anomalies and shorten response times, up from 51% a year earlier.
Digital identity is also moving further into mainstream aviation processes. The report found that 64% of airlines plan to use their own issued digital identity credentials, up from 32% in 2024. Biometric border control is already in place at 54% of airports and is expected to reach 83% by 2028.
Yet scaling those systems still depends on cooperation across the passenger journey. Some 57% of airlines said airport cooperation was the main requirement for expanding digital identity programmes, up from 40% the previous year.
Sustainability gap
On sustainability, adoption is highest where organisations can act on their own data. The report found that 83% of airlines are implementing fleet renewal programmes, 67% are sourcing Sustainable Aviation Fuel in selected locations, and 75% of airports use building management systems to monitor terminal energy use.
By contrast, total emissions tracking and airside carbon measurement, both of which require coordinated information sharing between several parties, remain below 20% adoption. The report says this reflects the same broader challenge seen elsewhere in the findings.
"Across AI, cybersecurity, digital identities and sustainability, operators name the same constraint: data that does not flow freely across systems and partners. It is consistent across every area we measured. Data coordination is not a future priority. It is what is limiting outcomes today."
