How would you sum up 2024 for SITA?
Sergio Colella - IATA confirms that 2024 was an exceptional year for air travel. Last year we once again reached the pre-Covid figures, with more than 4 billion passengers.. SITA has of course benefited from this. It was a banner year for us, with growth in revenues from 7% to 8%. It has resulted in the acquisition of two companies. The first is Materna IPS, which handles passengers for airports and airlines. Materna IPS is the leader in automatic baggage drop-off. The second acquisition was Asistim, a provider of flight operations solutions for airlines. Finally, last year we entered into a joint venture with Columbia Shipmanagement (CSM), a ship management and maritime services provider. In fact, this is the first time we have been involved in the maritime business...
Is the outlook just as good for 2025?
S.C. - If I refer again to the IATA forecasts, theair traffic could reach 5.2 billion passengers this year. And reach some 8 billion in 2040 due to an estimated average annual growth rate of 3.5%.
Do you think growth will be as strong in Europe, where consumers are more reluctant to fly?
S.C. - You're right to point to Europe as a special market. But there are some nuances. It's true that public opinion in continental Europe - that is, around a core group including France, Germany, the Benelux countries and Switzerland - is questioning the sustainability of air transport. This is leading to taxation measures by certain governments, as well as certain airports deciding to limit certain segments of traffic.
However, in Eastern Europe, the Balkans and Southern Europe, there is a very high level of dynamism.. Look at the boom in air traffic in Greece, for example! While air transport does need to work on optimising its activity to limit its environmental impact, we are still on a growth trajectory. The proof is in the pudding. With the exception of Germany, most European countries have returned to their pre-Covid traffic levels.
Automatic airport check-in by SITA improves the flow of traffic (Photo: SITA)
How does SITA plan to take advantage of the growth in global air transport?
S.C. - If the IATA forecasts are proven, it's clear that we're going to have to manage passenger flows even more efficiently. So we're continuing to build technological solutions that make the passenger experience smoother and enable improved mobility.
We conducted a survey of 7,000 passengers in 25 countries on all continents on their perception of technology. We found that passengers are very mature about technology. 90% of those questioned say they use technology when travelling. 75% of them would feel comfortable storing their passport on their smartphone. An almost identical figure is obtained for providing their digital and biometric identity before travelling. Consumers believe that digital technology is essential for their mobility, the use of biometrics and their security.
Which SITA innovation are you most proud of? Which technological innovation do you consider a failure?
S.C. - We're very proud to have deployed a digital passport on the Dutch island of Aruba in the West Indies. The technology is making travel easier than ever before. The digital identity can also be used at other points in the journey, such as entering a casino, checking into a hotel, hiring a car or booking a boat trip.
The most obvious failure? RFID technology for tracking luggage using a strip that emits a radio signal. This solution has not really taken off. It's too costly if it has to be applied to all baggage. All the more so as we are developing Apple's AirTag solution to identify baggage movements.
SITA has developed a large-scale digital passport in Aruba in the Dutch Caribbean (Photo: SITA)
What would be your personal wish for the ideal travel technology?
S.C. - The dream technology for me would be to control my entire journey and make it as seamless as possible. Like, for example, luggage transported from my place of departure to my place of arrival, with total intermodality with all means of transport. This would allow me to automatically readjust my connections and route in the event of delays. All available on my smartphone, which would also incorporate my digital identity. It would be fantastic. I think we could achieve such a degree of fluidity by 2030...
