A new report from air transport IT provider SITA, shows airports in China are increasing their investment in IT from 5.6% of revenues in 2017 to 7.5% in 2018, ahead of the global average of 5.69%. Chinese airlines are investing too, the report indicates, and there is a clear alignment on priorities, with cybersecurity top of the agenda for both.

According to SITA, 94% of airlines and airports are planning major cybersecurity programmes or R&D over the next three years. During 2018, airlines plan to spend 7% of their IT budget on cybersecurity while airports are forecast to spend 18% of theirs. SITA analyzed nine different areas of cybersecurity, measuring the rate of implementation. It found that both airlines and airports in China are ahead of their counterparts across the globe with higher rates in all nine areas.

May Zhou, VP & General Manager, East Asia, SITA, said research shows that 100% of airlines and 95% of airports have digital transformation already in place, under implementation, or planned. 

Baggage management was identified as another key investment in China. By 2019, 100% of airlines plan to have more than 50% of their route network compliant with IATA Resolution 753, where they will be tracking baggage at every point of the journey. By the end of 2021, 100% of airports will have two of the four steps tracked — the make-up area and loading stages. In addition, 94% of them will have transfer and arrival tracking also in place. This level of investment is far ahead of the rest of the world, observes SITA.