The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has called on airlines to maximise the benefits of digitalisation in airline retailing, payments and digital identity to improve passenger experience and strengthen financial resilience.

Sandrine Le Borgne, IATA Interim Director-General, Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice-President, Corporate Services, made the call at the opening of the 2026 IATA World Financial Symposium (WFS) and World Passenger Symposium (WPS) in Macao.

She said that although digital technologies had transformed how passengers planned, paid for and experienced air travel, the challenge was to translate these advances into greater operational efficiency and financial sustainability.

“Today, a traveler can use AI to plan a trip. They can pay with a digital wallet and use biometrics for a more seamless journey at the airport.

“The challenge now is realizing the value that these innovations can create to make travel more efficient and improve financial resilience,” Le Borgne said.

On the changing travel marketplace, she said artificial intelligence (AI) assistants and automated agents were reshaping how travellers discovered and compared travel options, creating opportunities and risks for airlines.

She said airlines needed to prepare for the changes while retaining control of their data, commercial relationships and data quality.

According to her, Modern Airline Retailing remains central to adapting to the evolving marketplace, with seven airlines already implementing or operating the Orders model and more than 20 expected to follow from 2027.

She added that information technology providers had committed more than 1.7 billion dollars to Offers and Orders.

“Offers and Orders are the foundation; AI is the accelerator. They need to move forward together as AI increasingly reshapes how travel is discovered, sold, and serviced,” she said.

On financial sustainability, Le Borgne said airlines needed to consider the broader financial implications of digital transformation, particularly in payment processing, reconciliation, settlement and revenue accounting.

She noted that airlines spent more than 24.5 billion dollars annually on payment processing, stressing the need to assess how emerging payment methods affected customer choice, operating costs, cash flow and financial risks.

She said reconciliation, settlement and revenue accounting should be integrated into the transition to Offers and Orders from the outset to eliminate complexity rather than simply digitise existing processes.

On passenger experience, Le Borgne said biometric technology was increasingly making airport processing faster and more seamless.

However, she noted that the benefits remained limited because many biometric solutions were designed for specific airports or countries rather than supporting seamless international travel.

She identified governments as critical to expanding the use of digital identity in international aviation, noting that the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) had established standards for secure digital passports through its Digital Travel Credential.

According to her, more than eight in 10 passengers had expressed interest in using a digital passport for check-in, highlighting the need for governments to issue and accept digital travel credentials.

On China’s aviation market, Le Borgne said the 2026 WFS and WPS marked the first time the events were being held in North Asia, reflecting the region’s growing influence in digital innovation.

She said Chinese airlines carried more than 770 million passengers in 2025, a record high, adding that further growth would require sustained investment in technology to improve efficiency, simplify travel and support environmental sustainability.

“China’s leadership is not only about scale. It has also been at the forefront of digital innovation, changing how people shop, pay, and travel.

“As we learn from one another, we must keep our solutions connected. We do this by having one set of global standards and evolving them as technology advances.

That is how we turn regional progress into a better experience for passengers worldwide,” she said.