The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has issued the air travel industry’s clearest mandate yet for investing in biometric and mobile-first infrastructure. The IATA 2025 Global Passenger Survey (GPS) reveals that passenger acceptance of biometrics is no longer a barrier to adoption, with satisfaction rates soaring and travelers demanding a fully digital, end-to-end journey managed from their smartphones.
The survey, which gathered over 10,000 responses from travelers across more than 200 countries, identified two defining trends: an overwhelming reliance on mobile devices and the accelerating adoption of biometric identity solutions.
Biometric Adoption Reaches Tipping Point
Biometric use has reached a record high, with 50 percent of passengers globally reporting they have used biometric identification at some point in their airport journey, up from 46 percent in 2024. Among this group, satisfaction is exceptionally high at 85 percent.
This high level of satisfaction and growing familiarity translates directly into trust. A significant 74 percent of all travelers indicated they are willing to share their biometric information if it means they can bypass traditional passport and boarding pass checkpoints at check-in, security, border control, and boarding.
The acceptance findings mirror trends ID Tech has been tracking across the aviation sector, including IATA’s global directory launch earlier this year and widespread deployments from major airports to national programs like India’s Digi Yatra.
Mobile Devices Dominate the Passenger Experience
This acceptance of biometrics runs parallel to the second major trend: the complete dominance of mobile devices. Passengers now expect to manage their entire journey from a single device. The survey found 78 percent of passengers want a “single travel hub” on their smartphone that combines their digital wallet, digital passport, and loyalty cards to manage booking, payments, and airport processes.
This demand is reflected in booking behavior: 54 percent of travelers now prefer to book flights using airline mobile apps, a massive leap from 37 percent in 2024. This shift has, for the first time, made mobile apps the most popular booking channel, surpassing airline websites (31 percent).
The convergence of payments and identity is also accelerating. The survey noted a significant rise in the use of digital wallets (like Apple Pay or Google Wallet) for travel payments, which jumped from 20 percent in 2024 to 28 percent in 2025. Concurrently, traditional credit and debit card use has slipped from 79 percent to 72 percent. This suggests passengers, having been “trained” to trust biometrics for low-stakes transactions (payments), are now fully comfortable extending that trust to high-stakes transactions like border crossing.
Industry Validation and Investment
The 85 percent satisfaction rate effectively ends the debate over passenger demand for biometrics. The primary bottleneck for adoption is now supply — specifically, the need for governments to accelerate the issuance of Digital Travel Credentials (DTCs) and for airports to commit to infrastructure investment.
This business case was validated by today’s concurrent announcement from Emirates of a $23 million biometric deployment at Dubai International Airport, covered separately in this issue.
While the USA, UK, and Japan are leading the adoption trend, IATA noted regional variance. European passengers remain the “most traditional and cautious” about sharing data in advance. However, IATA’s Senior Vice President, Nick Careen, was clear on the global message: “Passengers want to manage their travel the same way they manage many other aspects of their lives… As experience grows with digital processes… the message that travelers are sending in this year’s GPS is clear: they like it, and they want more of it.”
Sources: IATA, ftnnews.com, travelandtourworld.com
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By the ID Tech Editorial Team
