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Mobile passport, real-time flight alerts, baggage tracking top consumer wishlist
Across the world, travellers now expect more from airport apps. Recent data from the International Air Transport Association shows a clear shift: passengers increasingly want to use their smartphones to manage every stage of their trip, from booking to baggage claim.
In essence, these are what travellers want:
➤ Full mobile booking, payment and check-in
In 2025, 54% of passengers prefer dealing directly with airlines via mobile apps rather than third-party websites, and digital-wallet use jumped from 20% in 2024 to 28%.
➤ Integrated digital passport, boarding-pass and bag tag
Many travellers want a smartphone that doubles as a digital ID, boarding pass, loyalty-card holder and more.
➤ Biometric-based, paperless processing
Half of passengers now use biometrics at some point, be it for security, immigration or boarding. Among them, 85% report satisfaction, while 74% say they will share biometric information if it speeds up their journey.
➤ Real-time updates and convenience features
Travellers appreciate apps giving accurate gate changes, flight delays, indoor navigation and baggage-tracking. Detailed in the International Journal of Tourism and Hospitality Management report in June, a survey rated mobile-app functionality among top features for a “smart airport”.
Do these ‘wants’ for airport apps matter?
Today’s travellers want smooth, quick and predictable airport experiences. They value speed, clarity and the ability to skip long queues. App-based tools let them manage flights, payments, boarding and even luggage from their phone. That reduces stress, especially during busy travel periods.
In the Asia-Pacific region, new research by Priority Pass from mid-2025 found that about two-thirds of travellers believe airports are upgrading technology at the right pace.
Among those using airport lounges and automated systems, 47% said technology reduced travel stress, with 68% saying they spent more time on shopping or dining as a result.
Improvements should not stop
There are aspects that still need work as not all features meet travellers’ hopes yet.
In the same International Journal of Tourism and Hospitality Management survey, baggage-tracking and smart-parking features scored relatively low, showing a clear gap between expectation and delivery.
Though many airport apps deliver core services, such as boarding pass, flight info and check-in, elements such as dependable in-app baggage tracking, accurate indoor navigation or unified payment plus loyalty-card integration remain inconsistent.
For the end user, when they use an airport app next, they have reason to expect digital passport and boarding-pass integration, biometric check-in, real-time flight alerts and hopefully, baggage tracking. If the app lacks these, the tech is there elsewhere.
As airports and airlines continue to upgrade their systems, travellers are bound to treat a good airport app as essential as a boarding pass.
