When I asked ChatGPT about the state of air traffic in 2025, the answer was staggering: 5.2 billion passengers—a 6.7% increase post-COVID, according to IATA, mentioned as the data source. That’s not just a number; it’s a testament to the resilience and rebound of global aviation.
With 350 airlines across 120+ countries, IATA members represent over 80% of the world’s air traffic, shaping the very backbone of international travel.
But IATA is more than a statistic—it’s the silent force behind the scenes, setting global standards for everything from ticketing and cargo to baggage handling and safety protocols. It powers the Billing and Settlement Plan (BSP), enabling travel agents to tap into global booking systems, and supports interlining, so passengers can fly across multiple airlines with a single ticket.
Since 1945, IATA has been vital to building a safe, efficient, and interconnected air transport system. But what about the digital backbone of this ecosystem?
That’s where Managed File Transfer (MFT) comes in—quietly evolving in the cloud to support the seamless, secure exchange of data that keeps this global machine running.
Bomi Philip, IATA’s Head of Platform Management and Support Services, recently shared how they’re achieving this with Axway Managed File Transfer.
The quest for reliable data transfer that unites airlines
The pulse of this system beats through data: IATA’s digital infrastructure system supports the data flow, enabling billing and settlement processes between different airlines.
To maintain their critical role in global aviation, IATA requires a reliable file transfer solution that keeps up with the 24/7 schedule of modern air traffic, delivers enterprise-grade security protocols, and ensures smooth cooperation between airline companies.
Daily, IATA receives and processes around 200,000 files from all over the globe, containing passengers’ names and personal data, itineraries, and payment methods.
When passenger books a flight with a layover that uses two different carriers, IATA receives this information to ensure that every airline gets its proper share from the ticket, no matter if a flight was booked directly through the airline itself or a travel agency. This data also needs to be protected and stored with no downtime.
To serve their clients, IATA needs a reliable in-cloud file transfer solution that can facilitate regular updates and patches, and comply with rigorous PCI DSS certification – all of that with zero downtime.
With AWS providing a highly scalable cloud environment, Axway Managed File Transfer serves as a frontend for IATA’s four Digital Processing Centers, making their systems ready to receive files at any second of the day.
See also: how Axway ensures PCI DSS compliance with ease
Moving to the cloud made easy
Maintaining a traditional on-premises infrastructure made it difficult to achieve PCI DSS certification. IATA decided to migrate to a cloud infrastructure with AWS.
But for an organization like IATA, which needs to operate and serve clients 24/7, this presented another challenge: how to transition their MFT operations currently on-premises to the cloud while maintaining operation with zero downtime.
Axway Managed File Transfer made migration to the cloud easy, seamless, and fast, allowing IATA’s technical team to export their existing configuration and implement it into the cloud with the help of Axway’s MFT team.
“To be honest, some of the feedback I gave to Axway was that we never had to call their support team with this migration,” says Bomi Philip, Head of Platform Management and Support Services at IATA.
The entire process only took six months. Right at the end of this migration journey, IATA’s digital processing center was immediately ready for the PCI DSS certification.
“That’s where we said ‘Wow!’ Moving from on-premises to the cloud is not an easy journey. But for us, from an MFT perspective, it made our life easy.”
To cloud or not to cloud: explore Axway’s full hybrid deployment solutions
Optimized efficiency with lower costs
Migrating from on-premises infrastructure to AWS with Axway drove down maintenance costs. Instead of upkeeping the entire hardware-based infrastructure of 10-20 servers with High Availability and Disaster Recovery environments in each of four digital processing centers, Axway proposed a subscription model licensing strategy. Now, IATA only pays for files that it receives.
Another cost-saver was eliminating the need for maintaining both HA and DR sites. IATA’s on-premises infrastructure required having both High Availability and Disaster Recovery systems that ensured all file transfer systems worked with zero downtime.
Using Axway MFT on the AWS cloud means that now IATA can safely use their HA site for disaster recovery.
Safe and seamless zero downtime patching with Axway MFT
The cloud infrastructure also allows IATA to maintain its monthly patching calendar. Prescribed by the rigorous PCI DSS certification process, IATA needs to patch its file transfer systems within a short timeframe after a patch is released.
In a cloud environment, IATA’s technical team can seamlessly synchronize the active site with the HA site during patches with near-zero latency to install patches with no downtime.
“We’re doing a Disaster Recovery test every month,” says Bomi Philip. “Can you imagine? When we were on premises, we could only do a DR test once a year, taking downtime, informing the customers. But here, we don’t even need to notify the customers that we’re doing a DR every month. That’s amazing.”
Synchronizing the HA site with the active site every month for patch updates also allows regular testing of DR systems. It allows IATA to stay compliant with PCI DSS Disaster Relief testing requirements without the need for a dedicated yearly DR validation.
IATA’s digital transformation with Axway Managed File Transfer shows how effective strategic partnerships can transform crucial operations.
By achieving zero downtime data flow, significant cost reductions, and required security compliance, IATA can fulfill their mission of coordinating international air traffic efficiently.
Learn how one member of IATA, Alaska Airlines, leverages Axway MFT as an integral part of its operations.