Aviation is preparing to move twice as many passengers within a generation, without doubling the airports, the fleet, or the people standing at the borders. SITA’s Impact Report 2025 sets out how the industry is closing that gap, and the answer is increasingly software rather than concrete.
The industry will carry 8 billion passengers a year within 20 to 25 years, heading toward 10 billion by 2050, according to IATA. Drawn from a year of work with airlines, airports, governments and travel partners worldwide, the SITA Impact Report 2025 tracks how technology is becoming the principal way the industry adds capacity, manages disruption and reduces its environmental footprint.
David Lavorel, CEO of SITA, said “With passenger numbers heading toward 10 billion a year by 2050, the question is unavoidable: how do we move twice as many travelers without doubling our infrastructure? The SITA Impact Report 2025 shows how that shift is already underway. Airports are scaling capacity within the buildings they already have, avoiding the cost and timelines of new construction. Governments are clearing borders before passengers ever reach a queue or an officer’s booth. AI is moving out of pilot programs and into the operations rooms where flights are run. None of this is one company’s achievement. It is a shared tech transformation, where airlines, airports, governments and partners are powering the future of air transport together.”
