Airports are placing a higher priority on IT investments for passenger and airport security with 50 percent rating it a high priority, up from 37 percent last year. According to the 2016 Airport IT Trends Survey, co-sponsored by SITA and Airports Council International in association with Airline Business, investment focus has shifted to security in the wake of heightened regional tensions, some of which directly target air travel. While investment in passenger processing technology still ranks the number one priority for airports, it has dropped from 73 percent in 2015 to 59 percent this year as security rises in priority.

SITA’s research takes a look further into the airport’s digital transformation exploring areas such as wearables, biometrics, robotics and context-aware services and how airports plan to use these technologies over the next five to 10 years. In the light of the increased focus on security, it is not surprising that interest in biometric technology is high. According to the survey, more than one-third of airports will invest in single biometric travel token projects in the next five years, jumping to the majority (52 percent) within the decade.