INDUSTRY WATCH

But for the aviation industry, this rebound isn’ t just a sign of recovery, it’ s a high-stakes stress test. Digital transformation is no longer a long-term strategy. It’ s a constant, iterative operational imperative.

In my experience working with complex, real-time systems across global industries I’ ve seen the combination of two technologies, AI and Event-Driven Integration, play a significant role in re-shaping the future of aviation.

Airlines and airports are already adopting them, but how quickly and how effectively can they do so at scale?

AI is beginning to deliver on its operational promise

For years, AI in aviation was associated with hype more than outcomes. That’ s changing. British Airways, once plagued by delays and notorious IT failures, has invested £ 100 million to modernise its operations. Early results suggest it’ s working: 86 % of BA flights from Heathrow departed on time in Q1 2025 – its best ontime performance to date.

From flight operations to finance, AI is becoming embedded across teams with effective guidance and guardrails. This bottom-up investment in AI fluency will be just as critical as top-down system upgrades.

This shift proves that AI in aviation isn’ t just for data scientists, it’ s now a growing core competence for everyone involved in delivering an excellent passenger experience.

Real-time demands require a real-time platform

While AI is enabling smarter decisions, those decisions are only as effective as the infrastructure that supports them. That’ s where Event-Driven Integration powered by an Event-Driven Architecture( EDA) comes in.

In aviation, delays often stem not from poor planning but from slow, siloed information flows. Traditional systems still rely on batch updates and manual processes that are ill-suited to real-time operations.

With the proliferation of AI today, traditional approaches to application and data integration are no longer“ good enough.” They need to be faster, smarter, decoupled and more real-time.

BA’ s new AI-driven systems aren’ t just reactive, they’ re predictive. They reroute aircraft based on weather, proactively manage gate assignments and determine the best course of action when delays are inevitable. According to CEO Sean Doyle, the tools available to staff now are a“ game changer.”

Virgin Atlantic is taking a complementary approach. Its AI Champion Apprenticeship programme empowers non-technical staff to adopt AI in day-today decision-making.

They need to be event-driven.

Underpinned by EDA, systems can react instantly to events, like a passenger checking in, a bag being loaded or a flight being rerouted.

Consider this: Some legacy systems take longer to register a gate change than it takes for passengers to walk between gates. That’ s an unacceptable lag in a world where passengers have come to expect instant mobile updates and staff need real-time coordination.

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