The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released the results of its 2025 Global Passenger Survey (GPS), highlighting two key trends that are redefining the passengertravel experience:

  • Mobile Reliance Rising: More travellers are managing every stage of their journey using smartphones.
  • Biometric Adoption Accelerating: Use of biometrics and digital identity is expanding to enable more seamless airport processing, and travellers like it.

“Passengers want tomanage their travel the same way they manage many other aspects of theirlives—on their smartphones and using digital ID. As experience grows withdigital processes from booking to baggage claim, the message that travellersare sending in this year’s GPS is clear: they like it, and they want more ofit. There is an important caveat which is the need to continue building trust,so cybersecurity remains a priority. Cybersecurity must be core to theend-to-end digital transformation of how we book, pay, and experience airtravel,” said Nick Careen, IATA’s Senior Vice President Operations, Safety andSecurity.

Mobile-RelianceRising

The GPS confirms thatmobile devices have become central to the passenger journey. Travellers areincreasingly using their smartphones to book flights, manage payments andloyalty programs, and handle check-in, immigration, boarding, and baggageprocesses. Enthusiasm for mobile-enabled travel is higher than ever.

  • Booking and payment habits are shifting toward mobile channels. Over half of travellers (54%) want to deal directly with airlines, and they are doing that increasingly with mobile apps. Airline websites remained the most popular booking preference at 31%, but this was down from 37% in 2024. In 2025, web apps were the preferred choice for 19% of travellers, trending upwards from the 16% in 2024. This move was led by younger travellers (25%) which is an indication that the trend of shifting to mobile options is likely to strengthen over time.
  • Payment preferences are also evolving. While credit and debit cards remain dominant (72%), this marks a significant drop from 2024 (79%). Digital wallet use has increased significantly (from 20% in 2024 to 28% in 2025), and instant payment methods, such as IATA Pay, have also grown (from 6% in 2024 to 8% in 2025).
  • Passengers want their smartphones to do more for them: 78% of passengers want to use a smartphone that combines a digital wallet, digital passport, and loyalty cards to book, pay, and navigate airport processes. Use of electronic bag tags is also on the rise, increasing from 28% in 2024 to 35% in 2025, allowing passengers to generate their bag tags directly from a mobile device during check-in.

Biometric AdoptionAccelerates

The use of biometricsat airports is expanding, and passenger satisfaction with biometrics hasreached its highest level yet.

  • Half of passengers (50%) have used biometrics at some point in their airport journey, up from 46% in 2024. Usage is most common at security (44%), exit immigration (41%), and entry immigration (35%). Notably, biometric use has risen by nearly 20 percentage points since 2022.
  • Passengers who have used biometrics report high levels of satisfaction with 85% saying they are happy with the experience.
  • 74% of travellers say they would be willing to share their biometric information if it means they can skip showing a passport or boarding pass at checkpoints like check-in, security, border control, and boarding.
  • Privacy remains a concern, but there is room to build trust; 42% of passengers who are currently unwilling to share their biometric info say they would reconsider if data privacy was assured.

“Passengers arealready using biometrics for different stages of their journey, from check-into boarding. But to make the international travel experience fully digital,governments need to start issuing digital passports and enable their securerecognition across borders. When that becomes common practice, travellers,governments, and airlines will all see the benefits of digital identity with anexperience that is even more convenient, efficient, and secure,” said Careen.

Regional Trends

Africa

African passengersvalue the human touch; they are most likely to book through airline offices orcall centres. Their satisfaction levels are among the highest globally, rankingsecond overall. Yet they face the greatest border challenges, with visa andimmigration complexity cited as key barriers. Simplifying these processes couldunlock major growth.

Asia-Pacific

Asia-Pacific travellersare the most digitally savvy, with the highest overall satisfaction levelsamong global travellers. They lead in using mobile apps and digital wallets tobook and pay for travel, and are the least likely to use credit cards. They arealso among the most frequent users of biometrics, though their satisfactionwith these experiences is the lowest. This tech-forward group expects everfaster and more seamless journeys.

Europe

European passengersare the most traditional and cautious. They prefer to book directly throughairline websites and typically pay by credit or debit cards. They are the leastlikely of all regions to have used biometrics in the past year and remain morehesitant to share data in advance or replace travel documents with digitalidentification. Despite this cautious approach to technology, European travellersrank as the fourth most satisfied globally.

North America

North American travellersprioritize convenience above all else. They are the most likely to chooseflights based on total journey time and fewer layovers, and they rely heavilyon airline websites for booking. Despite this focus on convenience, they areamong the least satisfied travellers globally, ranking second from last acrossall regions. Biometrics are widely used, but privacy concerns are the strongestglobally. Efficiency and trust in data security are top priorities for thisregion.

Latin America &the Caribbean

Latin American andCaribbean travellers value personal interaction when booking and prefer to paywith credit or debit cards. They are more likely than any other region toobtain visas from a consulate or embassy. While they use biometrics lessfrequently, they show strong willingness to adopt the technology and reporthigh satisfaction when they do. Personal service and convenience are toppriorities for this region; yet overall, they are the least satisfied travellersglobally.

Middle East

Loyalty matters toMiddle East passengers. They favour airports with strong service reputationsand their preferred airlines. They are highly digitally engaged, withwidespread use of digital wallets and strong enthusiasm for smartphone-basedtravel credentials. They are among the most satisfied travellers globally,ranking third overall. Loyalty and service quality remain top priorities inthis region.

Passenger Profiles(Demographics)

Male Travellers

Male travellers aretypically more enthusiastic adopters of digital tools, adopting airline appsmore quickly than women. They show above-average interest in smartphone-onlyjourneys. They also use biometrics slightly more across travel processes.

Female Passengers

Female travellers aresomewhat more cautious adopters of digital travel solutions but are steadilyincreasing their use of airline apps in line with broader trends. They are morelikely to consider airline reputation and past experiences when makingdecisions, showing a stronger preference for reliability and trust.

Younger Generations(≤26 years)

Younger travellers arethe most proactive in using technology to enhance their journeys but wantstronger assurances on privacy and security. They are far more likely to bookflights through apps than older age groups, who still rely on websites. Theyalso show higher preference for digital wallets and biometrics over traditionaldocuments. Despite their digital readiness, they are the hardest group tosatisfy, with fewer reporting high satisfaction with their journeys.

Copyright 2025 Al Hilal Publishing and Marketing Group Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info).