The International Air Transport Association (IATA) held its joint World Financial Symposium and World Passenger Symposium in Macao on October 28-29, bringing together airline executives, regulators, and industry partners to discuss artificial intelligence, airline retailing, digital identity, and payments.

IATA said the event, themed “From Vision to Value: The Next Era of Air Travel”, would cover retail and distribution, financial services and processing, and passenger experience and accessibility.

Sandrine Le Borgne, IATA’s Interim Director General and Chief Financial Officer, said in the announcement that “turning that potential into real value drives the WFS/WPS agenda”. She said the programme would examine what is delivering results for airlines today and where challenges still remain.

The symposium was scheduled to open with remarks from Le Borgne and Stanley Pun, President of the Civil Aviation Authority of Macao. Speakers listed by IATA included executives from China National Aviation Holding Corporation, Hainan Airlines Holding, Lufthansa Group, Air India, and Kenya Airways, as well as an official from the European border agency Frontex.

SURVEY RESULTS

IATA released the results of its 2026 Global Passenger Survey in Macao on October 28. The survey is based on more than 10,000 responses from over 200 countries.

According to IATA, 58 percent of passengers experienced biometrics at some point in their airport journey in the past 12 months, up from 50 percent in 2025. Of those, 87 percent said they were satisfied. The survey also found that 49 percent of travellers had used AI for travel planning, most commonly to search for flights to a specific destination.

Nick Careen, IATA’s Senior Vice President for Operations, Safety, and Security, said that “passengers are embracing technology to make travel easier”. He called on governments to agree to a framework for issuing and accepting secure digital passports, known as Digital Travel Credentials.

The survey also found that immigration requirements had discouraged 43 percent of passengers from visiting a destination, up from 33 percent a year earlier. Among those put off, 53 percent said the process was too complex. Careen said that more than 100 countries issue eVisas but that there is little consistency in how airlines can check them and urged governments to adopt common standards.

On data protection, passengers’ leading concerns about biometrics were data breaches (59 percent), sharing of information with other organisations (49 percent), and a lack of clarity on how personal data is handled (41 percent), IATA said.

IATA represents more than 370 airlines, accounting for some 85 percent of global air traffic.

Sources: IATA