Mobile and Digital ID seems to be the future of travel, according to a recent report by the International Air Transport Association (IATA). The organisation recently released the data for its 2025 Global Passenger Survey (GPS), highlighting a rise mobile and biometric adoption among travellers.
The Future of Travel
The IATA’s 2025 Data focused mainly on two key trends :
- Mobile Reliance Rising
- Biometric Adoption Accelerating
Nick Careen, IATA’s Senior Vice President Operations, Safety and Security, commented, “Passengers want to manage their travel the same way they manage many other aspects of their lives—on their smartphones and using digital ID. As experience grows with digital processes from booking to baggage claim, the message that travellers are sending in this year’s GPS is clear: they like it, and they want more of it. There is an important caveat, which is the need to continue building trust, so cybersecurity remains a priority. Cybersecurity must be core to the end-to-end digital transformation of how we book, pay, and experience air travel.”
Mobile-Reliance Rising
The passenger survey revealed that mobile devices have become a central element of a passenger’s journey. Mobile devices are used at every step of the journey, from booking flights, managing payments, to handling check-in and immigration. Over 54% of the passengers want to directly deal with airlines through mobile apps, whereas the young travellers have been the core of this shift towards mobile use for booking tickets (31%).
Meanwhile, Debit and Credit card payments have dominated the trend by 72% in 2025, which was a significant drop from 79% in 2024. The use of Digital wallets has increased from 20% in 2024 to 28% in 2025. In addition to this, 78% of the passengers want to use a smartphone that combines a digital wallet, digital passport, and loyalty cards to book, pay, and navigate the airport process.
Biometric adoption has also accelerated. Half of the passengers have used biometrics at some point in their airport journey. The most common point is the security, exit immigration and entry immigration. Moreover, passengers have reported high levels of satisfaction with the biometric system at the airports. 74% of travellers are willing to share their biometric information if it makes their journey easier and smoother, like at check-in and security. Meanwhile, there have also been some privacy concerns around the biometric data.
“Passengers are already using biometrics for different stages of their journey, from check-in to boarding. But to make the international travel experience fully digital, governments need to start issuing digital passports and enable their secure recognition across borders. When that becomes common practice, travellers, governments, and airlines will all see the benefits of digital identity with an experience that is even more convenient, efficient, and secure,” said Careen.
The passenger demographics revealed that Male travellers are more enthusiastic about digital tools than women, whereas the women travellers are more cautious adopters of the same tools.
GPS results are based on over 10,000 respondents from more than 200 countries.
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