COVID-19 pandemic has refocused the information technology spending priorities of airlines and airports across the globe as the air transport industry face stricter health and operational requirements needed to keep the sector afloat.
Studies by global air travel information technology service provider: Société Internationale de Télécommunications Aéronautiques (SITA) reveals accelerated investment in automated passenger processing focusing on touch-less and mobile services.
SITA is a multinational information technology company providing information technology and telecommunication services to the air transport industry.
The study also reveals strong focus on virtual and remote information technology services that allowed employees to work from home while ramping up communications with passengers.
SITA, in the study, listed new trends in Cybersecurity and cloud services as packages that helped automate operations and drive new efficiencies.
Chief Executive Officer, SITA David Lavorel said severe slowdown in 2020 forced the air transport industry to focus on driving new cost efficiencies.
According to him, making the check-in process completely touchless is now the main priority for airports and airlines to help protect passengers and staff in addition to improving the passenger experience, and drive efficiency.
He said biometric technology is the focus for airport investment with 64 per cent of airports aiming to roll out self-boarding gates using biometric and identity documentation by 2023, three times higher than figures for last year.
He said airlines have doubled implementations and plan to double investment for self-boarding using biometric identity documentation by 2023.
Similarly, airlines, he added are prioritising a completely touchless check-in process, and most want mobile touchless payment options for all services provided.
Airline mobile applications for passenger services , he said has become a priority with nearly 97 per cent of airlines having major programmes in research and development in place by 2023.
By 2023 the majority of airlines plan to send passengers real-time notifications on their mobile devices about their bags and plan to provide real-time bag-tracking information for staff.
In response to the pandemic, he said many airlines and airports are investing more in in-house virtual and remote information technology services allowing employees to work in a more agile and effective way while speeding up communications with passengers.
He said: “Almost three-quarters of airports and airlines will continue to invest in data exchange, cloud services, cybersecurity, and business intelligence to accelerate their digital airport processes. This includes increasing services on passenger mobile apps and ensuring staff services are accessible via mobile or tablets.
“Adding to the pressure, airlines and airports had to rapidly incorporate new health measures such as touch-less passenger processing and the handling of new health information and protocols, including PCR testing in many destinations. These efforts have been made in a market that continues to face rapid changes in air travel regulations that make operational planning volatile and last minute.
“To solve these challenges, the industry has turned to technology and, in many cases, reprioritised where they invested in 2020.
The good news is that airlines and airports were able to capitalise on existing trends to automation and have made significant strides in implementing new solutions that will bring new improvements for the passenger now and into the future.”
