Airlines and airports across the Middle East and Africa (MEA) have sharply increased spending on technology over the past year, but a growing mismatch in investment priorities is limiting the returns, a new report says.

 

The Air Transport IT Insights 2025 report by global aviation IT provider SITA, based on surveys of 70 airlines and 370 airports worldwide, comes at a time when the aviation industry is under mounting pressure from high fuel costs, supply chain disruptions and geopolitical instability.

While carriers are doubling down on digital transformation to improve efficiency and resilience, many airports in the region are lagging creating gaps that undermine the full value of these investments.

According to the findings, every airline surveyed in the MEA region increased its IT spending in 2025—the highest level of commitment globally. In contrast, only 44 percent of airports in the region raised their technology budgets, while 12 percent signalled plans to cut back.

This imbalance is already visible in the maturity of digital infrastructure. While 69 percent of airlines in the region have established data platforms, only 26 percent of airports have done the same—the widest gap recorded globally.

SITA warns that without seamless data flow between airlines, airports, ground handlers and government agencies, the industry cannot fully unlock the benefits of its record investments.

Globally, aviation spent $50.8 billion on technology in 2025, yet much of that investment is constrained by poor coordination between systems and partners.“Without a clear, real-time view across the wider operation, organisations struggle to make informed decisions quickly,” the report notes, adding that this limits ability to respond to disruptions and drives up operational costs.

The cost of fragmentation is becoming more evident as airlines contend with disruptions linked to conflicts in the Middle East and other global pressures. Delays alone account for an estimated $30 billion in lost industry revenue annually, according to the International Air Transport Association.

Industry analysts say the report highlights a structural weakness in how aviation stakeholders invest in technology.

Airlines, which typically control their own operations, customer data and revenue systems, have moved faster in adopting advanced tools such as artificial intelligence and data analytics.

Airports, on the other hand, operate as shared platforms serving multiple airlines, government agencies and service providers, making coordination more complex.

Divergence in investmentSelim Bouri, president for Middle East, Africa and Türkiye at SITA, told The EastAfrican that the divergence in investment trends is worrying, particularly as the industry faces a new generation of challenges that cannot be solved through traditional expansion alone.“The traditional approach of building bigger airports or adding more aircraft is not sufficient, and it is not fast enough,” Bouri said. “Traffic is growing quickly and disruptions are becoming more complex. Technology offers a way to address these challenges immediately.”He noted that while airlines across Africa and the Middle East are investing heavily in digital tools to improve efficiency and sustainability, many airports are still focused on physical expansion, which takes longer to deliver results. This creates a gap in the system where gains made by airlines are offset by bottlenecks on the ground.

The report suggests that technology could offer quicker and more cost-effective solutions. For example, around 40 percent of airlines are already using AI-based tools to optimise flight routes and fuel consumption, achieving savings of between three and 10 percent per flight.

On a typical short-haul route, this can translate into tens of thousands of dollars in fuel savings without requiring new aircraft or infrastructure.

But the impact of such innovations remains limited if systems are not interconnected. Currently, only one in five airlines and two in five airports actively share operational data with key partners in real time.

Bouri attributes this to the complexity of the aviation ecosystem, where multiple stakeholders operate different systems with varying levels of data quality and standards. While the technology to integrate these systems exists, he said, progress depends on coordinated investment and the adoption of common standards.

Efforts are underway to address this through industry-wide initiatives, including standardisation of digital identity systems and data formats.

But infrastructure gaps remain a major barrier, particularly in developing regions. More than half of airports globally still rank investment in basic IT and telecommunications infrastructure as their top priority.

Financing is another challenge. Airport operators often rely on government support and collaboration with airlines to fund major technology upgrades, leading to lengthy negotiations over cost-sharing models. In regions where funding is limited, this can slow down progress and deepen the digital divide.

Despite these challenges, the report points to a significant opportunity for Africa and other developing markets to leapfrog legacy systems by adopting modern, scalable technologies from the outset. Rather than layering new tools onto outdated infrastructure, airports can invest in modular, interoperable systems designed to evolve over time.

This approach, Bouri argues, can deliver immediate benefits while preparing the sector for long-term growth. “If you start with the right technology, you gain scalability and faster returns on investment,” he said, drawing parallels with the rapid adoption of mobile networks in emerging markets.

Airlines alone committed $36 billion to IT spending in 2025, equivalent to 3.6 percent of revenue, while airports invested $14.8 billion, or 7.3 percent of revenue. Much of this is going into systems designed to improve operational resilience, from real-time flight management to passenger processing and customer service.

Artificial intelligence is emerging as a key focus area, with 63 percent of airlines already using AI in operations control to manage disruptions, aircraft allocation and crew scheduling. A further 79 percent plan to prioritise generative AI and related technologies in the coming year.

Yet the report makes clear that AI’s full potential will only be realised when it can draw on consistent, high-quality data from across the entire aviation ecosystem. At present, its use is largely confined to isolated applications, with limited integration across systems.

David Lavorel, CEO of SITA, said the industry is at a critical juncture where the next phase of digital transformation will depend less on new technology and more on how effectively existing systems are connected.“Aviation is deploying AI with real ambition,” Lavorel said. “But 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.”

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