Traveling without a passport, boarding pass, or hotel key: The seamless travel Amadeus dreams of

Prepare to be scanned. Taking a flight without a boarding pass, traveling without a passport, or entering a hotel room without keys or cards is becoming increasingly likely. Tech companies dream of facilitating these “seamless journeys” through biometrics, which uniquely identifies people based on their individual biology. And whoever controls the biometric system will control a significant part of the future tourist experience, becoming a key supplier for infrastructure operators (and governments).

Following this business logic, Amadeus, the highly profitable technology solutions company for the sector (translating more than 20% of its sales into profit), has positioned itself at the forefront. Founded in 1987 by four European airlines, including Iberia, the company made an announcement last week that may be decisive for its future: it intends to acquire, for €1.2 billion ($1.41 billion), the continent’s leading biometrics and identity company, the French firm Idemia Public Security (IPS). In 2024, it had already acquired the Portuguese company Vision-Box, specializing in biometrics for border controls, and has implemented its solutions in some airports, such as Narita (Japan).

Luis Maroto, its CEO, explained in a subsequent meeting with analysts that the acquisition is “strategically important” because, in addition to its technology platform, IPS would provide them with “a strong global client portfolio,” especially in the United States and Asia, which would complement their existing portfolio. Biometrics — understood as access control, identification, and the associated data solutions — is, for the executive, an essential component of their business that, he estimated, will allow them to save €50 million ($58.7 million) annually in the medium term.

Not everyone is as enthusiastic about the group’s future. It’s true that Amadeus had a strong 2025: revenue increased (6% to €6.517 billion), profit rose (€1.758 billion, an 8% increase), and its technology platforms helped clients process more bookings (484 million). However, the market perceives some threats to its competitive position. Its shares were among the worst performers on the stock exchange in 2025, and in 2026 they have accumulated an additional decline of almost 20%, mirroring what is happening to other software providers threatened by AI-native companies, according to the half-dozen experts consulted.

Jaime Sicilia of Singular Bank explains that, however profitable Amadeus’s GDS system may be — the system that connects travel providers with agencies for real-time bookings — the new technological standard created by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) allows airlines to sell “with more control over content, personalize prices, generate attractive and personalized offers, and avoid GDS fees, although it doesn’t completely replace it.” The airlines themselves are trying to channel the business directly, and companies based on AI or from outside the sector, such as Google Flights, “could add competition,” according to this expert.

Market analyst Franco Macchiavelli agrees. With biometrics, Amadeus wants to control the entire chain of processes that travelers will go through. So far, everything fits together. “The problem seems to be that the market hasn’t fully bought into that thesis. The share price peaked in mid-2025 at €74 ($87) and has since fallen by more than 30%. After the announcement of the largest acquisition in its history, the price hasn’t budged. This raises the question of what’s behind it.” He believes that biometrics may not be able to overshadow the fact that its GDS system “has been under pressure for years,” because airlines like Iberia, Lufthansa, and KLM are leaning toward using the NDC standard. “Amadeus seems to be adapting, but its revenue model could be nearing its end in its current form. This makes biometrics not only a bet on the future, but also a desperate attempt to move forward.”

There’s another reason tempering the enthusiasm: regulatory hurdles, which could slow the profit and margin growth expected from the acquisition. A few months ago, the Spanish Data Protection Agency fined airports operator Aena €10 million ($11.75 million) for using facial recognition to identify passengers at eight Spanish airports, and a year earlier, World, co-founded by Sam Altman, had to halt iris scans in some 30 shopping centers across the country for the same reason. These are just two examples illustrating the challenges this technology can face. Data security might mean, for instance, that a country is unwilling to hand over sensitive assets to companies without special conditions. It also poses risks to privacy and citizen oversight. But here again, some see the glass as half full: “The market is moving toward this type of facial recognition to improve airport traffic,” says Luis Padrón of GVC Gaesco. Something that not only passengers will notice: in addition to shorter waiting times and the elimination of bottlenecks during peak hours, facial or fingerprint recognition would allow terminals to be redesigned by eliminating physical barriers and would reinforce security.

War in Iran

Nikola Egia, an analyst at Kutxabank Investment, adds another short-term risk: the Middle East conflict. “Although exposure is low — between 7% and 9% of sales — there are many flight cancellations and more restrictions are being announced due to a lack of kerosene,” something that has slowed revenue growth in the first quarter according to data presented last Friday, which was still better than some analysts expected.

In the medium and long term, the numbers look promising. Global air traffic could grow, according to industry forecasts, by 3.8% annually, doubling passenger traffic in the next two decades to eight billion passengers. Iván San Félix of Renta 4 believes Amadeus has always demonstrated its technological superiority in the sector. “Clearly, the threat is significant, but as a leader, it has been investing in AI for years and, if we look at history, it has been able to maintain that technological hegemony.” He is cautiously optimistic about the company. Time will tell if Amadeus is sufficiently protected to face what lies ahead.

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