SITA has launched SITA Border Flow Lane, a border processing solution that leverages traveler data and intelligence to transform border control from a stop-and-check process into a data-driven, pre-clearance and move-through experience. Travelers are verified before departure and upon arrival, eliminating the need to present passports at gates or kiosks. The solution can clear borders up to eight times faster than traditional eGates.
IATA, Amadeus, and SITA state that digital identity technology is mature, with focus shifting to cross-border interoperability and government policy. IATA expects mass adoption within 1-2 years. India's DigiYatra has enabled around 100 million biometric journeys. Challenges remain in government adoption and cross-border trust. Europe's EES delays highlight airport capacity issues. Passenger demand is strong, with about 80% wanting smartphones to manage travel credentials.
Thai Aviation Industries (TAI), Edgewater Solutions, and Amadeus have signed an MOU to collaborate on a roadmap for modernizing passenger journey and airport operations across six Thai international and regional airports. Areas include faster passenger processing, seamless identity and border flows, smarter airport operations, and real-time data integration. Thailand's airports serve approximately 140 million passengers annually, with volumes expected to rise.
Hamad International Airport, with Qatar Airways and SITA, launched Fast Pass, connecting over 700 touchpoints in one of the largest biometric passenger rollouts globally. Passengers can opt in and use facial recognition for check-in, bag drop, security, and boarding. The service will extend to transfer passengers and other airlines in the future.
Amadeus is acquiring Idemia Public Security (IPS) for €1.2 billion. Expected to close in mid-2027, the deal strengthens Amadeus' airport and border technology capabilities and advances biometric identity in its core travel platform.
Amadeus announces intention to acquire IDEMIA Public Security (IPS) for €1.2 billion to strengthen biometric and identity capabilities, creating seamless travel journeys. IPS employs ~3,300 and serves 600+ customers. Closing expected mid-2027, with earn-out up to €1.35 billion. This accelerates Amadeus' growth in airports and border verticals.
SITA 2025 Air Transport IT Insights reveals airlines and airports face data integration and cooperation challenges in scaling AI and digital identity solutions. Despite this, 79% of airline IT professionals prioritize AI investment in the next 12 months, and 42% prioritize biometric identity management.
Manchester Airport introduced a new operational model at Terminal 2, using Amadeus biometrics to allow domestic and international passengers to share infrastructure, with automated reconciliation success near 99%, improving capacity and efficiency.
Amadeus announced that Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), the Philippines' main hub, has adopted its biometric technology, allowing passengers to complete immigration in under 20 seconds. The upgrade supports the airport's $3 billion modernization with 78 new biometric eGates. The first batch of 24 eGates became operational in December 2025, with the remaining 54 to be deployed in early 2026 as terminal refurbishment completes. The airport serves more than 50 million passengers annually, with the concession awarded to NNIC in 2024.
Amadeus and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) formalized a Memorandum of Understanding in support of ICAO's "No Country Left Behind" (NCLB) goal. The partnership seeks to enhance States' capacity to adopt advanced digital technologies that improve the efficiency, safety, and sustainability of international air transport systems. Focus areas include capacity-building and technical assistance to states, promoting biometrics interoperability consistent with ICAO Doc 9303 and the TRIP Roadmap, and training programs on digital identity and biometrics. Initial NCLB deliverables are expected in the first half of 2026.
Indonesia's Directorate General of Immigration has become the first authority in the world to deploy Amadeus' biometric corridors at scale. The technology uses AI-enabled biometrics to validate passenger identities in motion through wide corridors, without stopping or presenting documents. As part of the 'All Indonesia' initiative, two corridors are deployed at Jakarta airport and one at Surabaya, initially for elderly and disabled travelers, with future plans for all passengers. During the Hajj pilgrimage, each corridor processed 30+ border crossings per minute at peak times, a more than ten-fold capacity increase over existing eGates, processing over 50,000 pilgrims.
Amadeus released global research, 'Connected Journeys: How Technology Will Transform Travel in the Next Decade'. It found 79% of Singapore respondents would consider using biometric gateways to replace repetitive document and identity checks at key airport touchpoints such as check-in, boarding and immigration, above the global average of 69%. 36% are interested in biometric security to speed up queues, 33% in real-time traffic and arrival updates, and 62% would check luggage from home. 32% would prefer a single 'super app' consolidating travel information; among business travellers, 34% prefer one consolidated app and 32% value smart luggage tracking. Generative AI usage nearly doubled fro…
Amadeus released a global study covering 2,000 UK travellers. Friends and family recommendations remain the top source of inspiration for UK travellers (36%), but generative AI use grew 60% year-on-year, travel influencers 33% and social media ads 27%. AI use grew 146% in China, 82% in Singapore, 64% in Spain, 53% in India and 30% in the US. Among UK travellers, 70% would consider biometrics and 64% would use door-to-door baggage services. 80% agree provider quality emerges in disruption handling, and 81% would rebook with providers who handle disruptions efficiently.
Amadeus released its Connected Journeys: How Technology Will Transform Travel in the Next Decade study, surveying 9,500 travelers across China, France, India, Singapore, Spain, the UK and the USA. Generative AI usage rose 64% year over year; 42% valued time savings, 37% personalized recommendations and 36% discovering new destinations. 64% would pay for an in-trip AI travel assistant, and 17% would pay up to five percent of total trip value. However, 25% encountered outdated or inaccurate AI information and another 25% found AI unable to capture personal preferences. 90% of air travelers reported some anxiety, 69% favored biometric gateways and 66% showed interest in remote baggage check-in.
Amadeus released a global study covering 2,000 US travellers. Social media is now the primary source of travel inspiration, with 34% of US travellers using it, up 21% year-on-year. Generative AI saw the fastest growth, with 17% of US travellers using AI tools, up 30%. 68% of travellers are willing to pay a one-off fee for an AI travel assistant, averaging 5.8% of total trip cost. 61% of Americans favour biometrics at airports.
Amadeus and Lufthansa, both partners in the EU Digital Identity Wallet Consortium Large Scale pilot project, successfully tested the EUDI Wallet this summer for online check-in and in-person airport scenarios including check-in, bag-drop and boarding. Available to citizens in 2026 and provided by Member States, the EUDI Wallet securely stores identity documents such as passports and national ID cards, payment methods and biometric profiles. Amadeus has enhanced its Travel Ready solution to provide infrastructure enabling third-party wallets to operate with the travel industry, and plans to test digital travel credential use cases such as airport security and border control later in 2025.
Perth Airport has partnered with Amadeus to deploy an end-to-end biometric passenger system covering check-in to boarding. The airport will add close to 100 new self-service check-in kiosks and replace nearly 40 traditional check-in counters with bag drop units. Travelers on selected airlines can opt for biometrics at self-service kiosks, then validate identity at bag drop and boarding with a brief face scan, keeping passports and boarding passes in their pockets. The project enables Australia's first fully automated departure process using biometrics, building on collaboration dating to 2015 and biometric trials from 2022.
Malaysia Airlines signed a new partnership with Amadeus to deploy Amadeus Travel Ready, becoming the first airline in Southeast Asia to adopt the technology. The solution digitalizes and verifies travel documents such as passports, visas and health documents within online and mobile check-in, reducing pressure on airport check-in counters. The carrier says it lays the foundation for a fully biometric, seamless journey. The solution aligns with the IATA One ID initiative.
Amadeus announced the extension of its collaboration with the Australian Department of Home Affairs and its subsidiary Vision-Box Australia under a new multi-year agreement to continue supporting the Departure SmartGates program across ten Australian international airports. The agreement includes a mid-life refresh of the SmartGates infrastructure and deployment of Amadeus Visiontec facial recognition technology to extend asset life and ensure contemporary technology. Amadeus has been the provider since the program's inception in 2015.
SAP Concur podcast conversation with Anshuman Singh, Director of Digital Product Management and Experience at American Airlines, discusses building a customer-centric, frictionless business travel booking experience. Singh says American Airlines keeps the customer at the core, embedding available features at every touch point of the booking process to simplify the employee travel experience and increase efficiency across departments. The article also notes post-pandemic hybrid work trends mean employees may start trips from cities other than headquarters, and biometrics could further streamline travel.