Airlines based in North America are locked in on artificial intelligence and cybersecurity when it comes to IT investment priorities, according to a new report from SITA.
The IT provider for the airline industry released its latest report, the 2024 North American Air Transport IT Insights, in collaboration with Airlines for America.
The report, which included feedback from senior IT executives from 379 passenger carriers gathered from September to November 2024, found that 77% of airlines in North America identified cybersecurity as one of their “top three IT priorities” for investment in 2025. Almost half of airlines surveyed (45%) named cybersecurity as their first priority.
AI was also a frontrunner. Forty-five percent of respondents said AI was their number one focus. In a release, SITA said that focus was “a level of commitment to AI innovation significantly higher than seen globally.”
“Airlines are not just responding to current operational challenges but are actively investing in the technologies that will scale to support seamless air travel,” said Shawn Gregor, president of the Americas at SITA. “From cybersecurity defenses to AI-driven operational efficiencies, North American airlines are setting the pace for industry-wide transformation ahead of forecasted rapid growth in passenger volume.”
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According to SITA’s analysis, airlines are working to implement measures including privileged account management, single sign-on authentication and distributed denial of service protection.
Eighty-two percent of airlines said they are using or plan to use AI and machine learning for threat detection and analysis. Other solutions for cybersecurity that airlines are implementing include extended protection and response technology (82% have implemented), zero trust architecture (82% have implemented) and security operations centers (82% have implemented). Some airlines are also using blockchain to assist with data integrity and security and quantum encryption, among other tools.
Applications powered by AI are widespread and go beyond cybersecurity, according to SITA, with predictive disruption management and operational efficiency also cited as priorities for AI use. It also identified data usage strategies as top of mind for carriers, and the report said computer vision and 5G are potentially “the next wave of technological investment.”
In February SITA released a report on airline trends, which similarly flagged AI and cybersecurity as priorities. The industry’s focus on AI was also highlighted in February in a report from Lufthansa Innovation Hub as an area of startup investment for airlines.