Africa’s airlines have made the boldest technology commitments of any region in the world, yet a new industry benchmark report warns that record spending alone cannot unlock its full value without the data coordination to match.
Aviation technology company SITA (Société Internationale de Télécommunications Aéronautiques) released its 2025 Air Transport IT Insights report on Wednesday, revealing that the global air transport industry spent a record $50.8 billion on technology in 2025. Airlines accounted for $36 billion of that total, representing 3.6 percent of revenue, while airports raised their contribution to $14.8 billion, equal to 7.3 percent of revenue.
Every airline surveyed across Africa and the Middle East increased its information technology (IT) budget in 2025, the highest regional commitment in the survey. However, the report exposes a structural weakness: those airlines and airports are adopting systems in silos, sharing little data across their operations or with partner organisations.
Only one in five airlines and two in five airports in the region actively share information with key players in the air transport chain. The gap between airline and airport data platform maturity in Africa and the Middle East is the widest of any region globally. While 69 percent of airlines in the region now have an established data platform, just 26 percent of airports can say the same.
The AI ceiling
The report identifies data fragmentation as the primary constraint on artificial intelligence (AI) returns across the industry. Globally, 63 percent of airlines use AI in operations control to manage disruption, aircraft assignment and crew availability simultaneously. Yet only 17 percent use AI to monitor aircraft turnaround activity in real time, precisely the function that requires consistent data from multiple partners.
Airports are beginning to close that gap: 53 percent now apply AI to aircraft turnaround, up from 36 percent in 2024. Still, 79 percent of airlines globally name generative AI and large language models (LLMs) as their top investment priority for the next 12 months, a signal that ambitions are running well ahead of current deployment readiness.
“Aviation is deploying AI with real ambition,” said David Lavorel, chief executive officer of SITA. “But the survey is clear: the primary barrier to maximising that investment is the lack of data integration across the operation. The technology is there. The data infrastructure to connect it often is not.”
Cybersecurity and digital identity
Cybersecurity concerns are acute in the Africa and Middle East region, with 84 percent of airports citing it as their primary infrastructure driver, the highest of any infrastructure concern in the region. Globally, 64 percent of airports are already applying AI in cybersecurity to detect anomalies and reduce response times, up from 51 percent in 2024.
Progress on digital identity is accelerating sharply at the global level. Sixty-four percent of airlines now plan to issue their own digital identity credentials, up from 32 percent in 2024. Biometric border control, already live at 54 percent of airports, is projected to reach 83 percent by 2028. The main obstacle is coordination: 57 percent of airlines cite airport cooperation as the primary requirement for scaling digital identities, up from 40 percent the year before.
Flight delays alone cost the industry $30 billion in annual revenue, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA). SITA argues that closing the data coordination gap is now a direct financial imperative, not a future ambition.
The 2025 Air Transport IT Insights report surveyed 41 airlines and 347 airports.
