DATA & ANALYTICS
or passengers passing through the world ’ s busiest airports , the visible signs of digital transformation are everywhere . Mobile boarding passes have replaced paper tickets . Baggage tags contain digital chips instead of just barcodes . Security officers monitor AI-enhanced camera feeds . Yet these passenger-facing changes represent only a fraction of the technological revolution reshaping aviation infrastructure .
Behind the scenes , airport operators are undertaking their most significant digital transformation in decades . The pressure to process more passengers – while maintaining security – has turned these transport hubs into sophisticated data centres , processing millions of data points across interconnected systems that keep aircraft flying and passengers moving .
The scale of this transformation has intensified as global air travel rebounds . With more than 904 million passengers screened by the US Transportation Security Administration in 2024 – a 5 % increase from one year earlier – airports are accelerating digital upgrades that were paused during travel restrictions .
Network providers compete for share of aviation infrastructure market At the centre of this transformation , network infrastructure providers are
competing to modernise airport systems . Extreme Networks , a Massachusetts-based provider of AI-driven network automation , has emerged as a significant player , with its technology now underpinning operations at seven major international hubs .
The company ’ s analytics platforms enable airport operators to track passenger movements and retail behaviour patterns in real time .
162 March 2025