IATA Global Passenger Survey 2026: 84% of Travelers Would Use a Digital Passport 

84% of passengers would use a digital passport for online check-in, and three in four biometric users prefer to register once, in advance. Data breaches are their top concern. 

On October 28, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) released its 2026 Global Passenger Survey, based on more than 10,000 responses from passengers in over 200 countries. The data show that the use of airport biometrics keeps growing and that interest in digital passports is high. They also show what holds back travelers’ trust: how their data is protected and shared. 

How travelers use airport biometrics 

• 58% used biometrics at some point in the airport in the last 12 months (50% in 2025). 87% of them say they are satisfied. 

• 75% of those who have used them prefer to register once, in advance, to be recognized automatically. 

• 78% would share their biometric information to skip showing a passport or boarding pass. 

• 84% would use a digital passport for online check-in, and 82% would share it with the airline when booking. 

• 86% would share their immigration information digitally before departure (83% in 2025). 45% would prefer to complete those procedures before reaching the airport. 

“More passengers are experiencing biometrics during their travels. They like it and want more,” said Nick Careen, IATA’s Senior Vice President, Operations, Safety and Security, in the official release. 

For IATA, scaling this model depends on countries agreeing on a common framework that enables interoperability. 

“To make biometrics the norm for international travel, governments must agree a framework for issuing and accepting secure digital passports—or Digital Travel Credentials,” Careen added. 

Biometric data privacy: what concerns travelers 

Willingness to use biometrics does not erase doubts about data. IATA itself notes that retaining trust is essential for biometrics to be adopted in travel processes. The first concern is security: 59% fear a possible data breach. Next comes where that information ends up, as 49% worry it may be shared with other organizations. And 41% miss transparency about how their personal data is handled. 

These concerns vary by region. North America uses biometrics the most (63%) and, at the same time, is the most worried about data breaches. In Latin America and the Caribbean, where use stands at 51%, the main concern is how personal data is shared and managed: it is the region most worried about this issue. 

Reusable identity: digital travel credentials, control and interoperability 

Registering once and being recognized later at other points of the journey is the idea behind IATA One ID, and what we call continuous identity: instead of an isolated check at every step, an identity that is reused. The survey’s data on digital passports and immigration procedures point in the same direction: a significant share of travelers is willing to verify their identity before reaching the airport. 

Reusing an identity is not enough: trust in it has to be maintained throughout the journey, not only at the first registration. Verifiable credentials, the model IATA proposes in One ID, point in that direction: a trusted issuer, such as a government, an airport or an airline, signs the credential; the passenger stores it in their wallet, and each touchpoint checks its validity without repeating the full check. Biometrics confirm at each step that the person presenting it is its holder, and verification can be stepped up if the context requires it. This is where fraud prevention comes in: a reusable identity is only secure if no one else can use it. 

That reuse also depends on what Careen called for: an interoperable ecosystem, in which a Digital Travel Credential (DTC) issued by a government, an airport or an airline can be verified to the same standards throughout the rest of the journey. 

That ecosystem, moreover, does not follow a single model. In the European Union, the European Data Protection Board concluded in 2024 that facial recognition at airports is only compatible with the GDPR in certain cases, such as when the biometric template stays under the passenger’s control, for example on their own device. Other countries are moving towards models in which the system identifies travelers without a document: at Singapore’s Changi Airport, residents already clear immigration with their face and iris, without showing a passport. Some processes match the passenger against a single credential (1:1), while others identify them among many records (1:N). Travel identity technology has to be able to adapt to any of these scenarios without rebuilding the architecture. 

At the same time, this model has to address the main concerns raised in the survey: 

• In-person credential presentation for scenarios most sensitive to the risk of data breaches, and remote credential presentation for passengers who value a lower-friction experience. 

• Against data sharing, sovereignty, consent and minimization: where the data resides, who can access it and with what permission. With selective disclosure, passengers share only the data each touchpoint needs, as IATA proposes. 

• Against a lack of transparency, traceability: being able to explain which data was used, for what purpose and with what result. 

Security, data control and traceability are, ultimately, the same criteria IATA assesses in its One ID certification. The convenience passengers prefer depends on their being able to trust how their identity is managed. 

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