Flight bookings by mobile ‘central’ to airline passenger journeys, Iata finds

Mobile devices have become “central” to airline passenger journeys, new Iata research shows. 

 

Travellers are increasingly using smartphones to book flights, manage payments and loyalty schemes and handle check-in, immigration, boarding and baggage processes. 

 

“Enthusiasm for mobile-enabled travel is higher than ever,” the airline trade body said.

 

Booking and payment habits are shifting toward mobile channels. More than of travellers (54%) want to deal directly with airlines, and they are doing that increasingly with mobile apps. 

 

Airline websites remain the most popular booking preference at 31%, but this is down from 37% last year. 

 

Web apps are the preferred choice for 19% of travellers, trending upwards from the 16% in 2024. 

 

This move was led by younger consumers (25%) - an indication that the trend of shifting to mobile options is likely to strengthen over time, according to Iata.

 

Payment preferences are also evolving. While credit and debit cards remain dominant (72%), this marks a drop from 79% in 2024. 

 

Digital wallet use has increased from 20% in 2024 to 28% year on year and instant payment methods, such as Iata Pay, have also grown from 6% in 2024 to 8% in 2025.

 

Meanwhile, 78% of passengers want to use a smartphone that combines a digital wallet, digital passport, and loyalty cards to book, pay, and navigate airport processes. 

 

Use of electronic bag tags is also on the rise, increasing from 28% in 2024 to 35% in 2025, allowing passengers to generate their bag tags directly from a mobile device during check-in.

 

The use of biometrics and digital identity is expanding to enable more seamless airport processing, and passengers “like it”, the research found.

 

However, Iata’s global passenger survey found that European passengers are the most traditional and cautious. 

 

They prefer to book directly through airline websites and typically pay by credit or debit cards. 

 

They are the least likely of all regions to have used biometrics in the past year and remain more hesitant to share data in advance or replace travel documents with digital identification. 

 

"Despite this cautious approach to technology, European travellers rank as the fourth most satisfied globally,” Iata noted.

 

Iata operations, safety and security senior vice president Nick Careen said: “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 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.”