Global airline fraud rates decrease
New data suggests the airline cybersecurity industry is flighting back strongly against fraudsters.
Fraud prevention and digital identity solutions firm Accertify, Inc released new data showing airline fraud rates have declined across all major global regions in the first half of 2025.
It says Europe posted the largest drop — a 50% year-over-year decrease in fraud pressure.
The analysis also reveals improvements in the US and Asia Pacific, while acknowledging that targeted risks persist.
Based on analysis of millions of airline transactions across major carriers, Accertify found that global fraud rates dropped 30% year-over-year to 0.25%, or one fraud attempt in every 400 bookings.
European routes now account for just 12% of all attempted fraud worldwide, down from 24% in the first half of 2024.
In the US, fraud rates on domestic and international travel dropped 38% to one fraud attempt in every 556 bookings (0.18%).
The analysis revealed notable shifts at individual airports:
United States: Dallas Love Airport (-69%), San Diego International (-68%), and Chicago Midway (-67%) saw the largest year-over-year drops in fraud pressure. In contrast, Daniel K. Inouye International in Honolulu experienced a 175% increase, while Seattle-Tacoma International rose 40%, moving closer to the U.S. average. Miami International ranked as the highest-risk major US airport in H1 2025, despite seeing its own fraud rate decrease compared to last year.
Europe: Among major airports with at least one million bookings, the lowest fraud attempt rates were recorded at Kraków John Paul II International (Poland), Bristol Airport (UK), and Bologna Guglielmo Marconi Airport (Italy). Naples-Capodichino International (Italy) posted the steepest drop (-57%), followed closely by EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg (-50%). High-risk hubs included London Heathrow and Humberto Delgado Airport (Portugal).
Asia Pacific: Overall fraud pressure on departures from the Asia Pacific region declined 6% year-over-year, yet it remains one of the relatively higher-risk departure regions worldwide. Among major airports with over one million bookings, the lowest fraud attempt rates were recorded at Auckland Airport (New Zealand) and Haneda Airport (Tokyo, Japan), with Haneda achieving a 72% year-over-year drop. The largest decreases in the region came from departures out of Tokyo and Singapore (both down 27%).
“While we’re seeing positive trends in fraud reduction across many regions, our data shows that fraudsters are highly adaptive and constantly evolving their tactics,” said Mark Michelon, President of Accertify.
“Even as overall fraud pressure decreases, they’re testing for new vulnerabilities and shifting their focus to exploit specific routes and gaps in security.”
Accertify works with airlines, protecting eight of the top ten global carriers.
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