This archive report was first published on 10 November 2019.
The aviation industry made a significant investment in information technology in 2018, with a record $50 billion spent on refining passenger satisfaction and enhancing management of processes at airports and in aircraft.
According to the Air Transport IT Insights 2019 report, released on November 5, 2019, in Lisbon, Portugal, airports stepped up their IT spend by 6.06 per cent of revenue in 2018, while airlines increased their IT spend by 4.84 per cent of their revenue.
The report, compiled by SITA, a multinational information technology company providing IT and telecommunication services to the air transport industry worldwide, was launched at the SITA EURO IT summit in Lisbon.
Matthys Serfontein, SITA president, hailed the increase in IT spend as the highest in the industry so far, after several years of virtually flat growth.
“The good news is that the growing investment in automating the passenger journey means the industry is providing a faster, more pleasant airport experience,” Serfontein said.
The report noted that significant resources from the investments have gone into automation of the passenger journey, a revolutionary step amid rising numbers.
As a result, the industry recorded positive growth in customer satisfaction by reducing pile-ups at airports through quicker passenger processing times.
“This is a real success story for automating the passenger journey particularly at a time when we expect numbers to double over the next 20 years, with physical airport infrastructure struggling to keep pace,” Serfontein said.
“Technology is key to alleviating the industry’s capacity crunch and avoiding negative impacts on passengers.”
