Latin American aviation growth puts technology resilience in focus

Latin America and the Caribbean’s aviation sector is expanding rapidly, putting greater pressure on the technology infrastructure underpinning airlines and airports – and potentially increasing operational risks for travel businesses.

Passenger traffic in the region rose 8.6% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2026, above the global average. The region’s 20 busiest airports handled 440.4 million passengers in 2025, more than half of total regional traffic.

At the same time, global air transport technology investment reached a record US$50.8 billion in 2025, including $36 billion from airlines and $14.8 billion from airports.

For insurers and other travel-sector businesses, the growing dependence on interconnected technology highlights the potential impact of system outages, cyber incidents, and operational disruption on passengers.

“The growth of Latin American aviation raises a second discussion that is not always visible: whether our technological capacity can grow at the same pace as operations. In an industry that operates 24/7, scaling does not simply mean processing more passengers; it means doing so while maintaining continuity, security, and service quality,” said Rodrigo Cabot, Business Development, Alliances and Technology Strategy Manager at Ecosistemas Global.

According to SITA, 71% of airports identified cybersecurity as their main technology focus in 2026, while 63% of airlines use artificial intelligence (AI) in operations control centres.

Cabot says the next stage will involve using operational data and AI to anticipate incidents rather than simply resolve them.

As aviation becomes more digitally interconnected, technology resilience, cybersecurity, and operational continuity are increasingly becoming business issues – with consequences that can extend directly to the passenger experience.