The aviation industry’s efforts to scale artificial intelligence (AI) in operations is being hampered by poor data integration and consistency according to a study.
The SITA 2025 Air Transport IT Insights study revealed both airlines, 49%, and airports, 33%, citing the challenges around data.
When it came to scaling digital identity solutions for travel stakeholders, cooperation was seen as the main challenge for 57% of airlines and 44% of airports.
“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.
Despite the hurdles, AI is seen as a priority area of airline IT investment in the next 12 months, according to 79% of IT professionals. Biometric identity management solutions were cited as a priority for 42% and business intelligence software by 33%.
Almost two thirds of carriers, 63%, use AI within operations control to manage disruption, aircraft assignment and crew availability, while 37% have not yet deployed it in these areas. Unsurprisingly, 75% use AI for customer service.
While early use cases have been for individual systems—39% use it for predictive alerts and 38% for simulation—the reports points to the desire to use the technology more centrally.
The finding is supported by a recent report from Accenture which revealed airlines layering AI onto existing legacy systems.
When asked about enabling AI within their infrastructure, 41% of airlines said they have already done so, while 51% plan to do so by the end of 2028.
The impetus behind the infrastrucure investment was cited as cloud readiness and scalability, 59%, cybersecurity risks, 55% and risk of disruption, 46%.
Just under half of airlines, 49%, are using AI in cybersecurity according to SITA. While the technology can strengthen monitoring and detection, it relies on data that is consistent and integrated data.
Process and culture transformation was cited as the biggest IT challenge by 62% of carriers, while 49% cited data integration and 49% said data quality issues.
Overall, IT spend was expected to hit $36 billion in 2025 accounting for just under 6% of revenue. The amount was 3.6% of total spend, unchanged since 2023. In addition, airline IT professionals expect budgets to grow slightly in 2026.
In airports, IT investment was expected to hit $14.8 billion in 2025, accounting for more than 7% of revenue. The top priority areas for investment are IT, telecom and networking infrastructure, 56%, cybersecurity services, 53% and passenger processing systems, 52%.