Penetration Testing Cost for UK Airlines, Airports and Aviation Suppliers (2026)

A penetration test for a UK airline, airport or aviation supplier typically costs £2,200 to £42,000 in the UK market. The low end is a short test of the internet-facing perimeter. The high end covers a booking platform, its partner integrations, cloud configuration and the perimeter. The price is the number of testing days multiplied by a day rate of £1,100 to £1,400.

What does a penetration test cost for an aviation organisation?

Most airlines, airports, ground handlers and aviation technology suppliers fall into one of five scopes, typically costing between £2,200 and £42,000 in the UK market. What you pay depends on how many systems are tested and how complex each one is, because that sets the number of testing days. The table shows the typical range for each scope.

Scope	What is tested	Days	Typical UK cost
Perimeter only	Internet-facing booking and partner services, VPN and remote access, and exposed management interfaces	2 to 3 days	£2,200 to £4,200
Crew or maintenance portal	A single web portal with one user role, such as a rostering or maintenance-record system	5 days	£5,500 to £7,000
Passenger app plus its API	A passenger or crew mobile app on one platform, and the API behind it	9 to 10 days	£9,900 to £14,000
Booking platform plus integrations	A multi-role booking and PNR platform, and the interline, GDS and OTA APIs connected to it	14 to 21 days	£15,400 to £29,400
Booking platform, integrations, cloud and perimeter	The platform and APIs above, a cloud configuration review, and the external perimeter	20 to 30 days	£22,000 to £42,000

These are market ranges, worked out from typical engagement lengths and UK day rates of £1,100 to £1,400. They are a guide for budgeting. The pricing page shows the engagement lengths for each type of test, and the quote form gives an exact fixed price for your scope.

What drives the price?

The number of testing days drives the price, and the scope drives the number of days. On an aviation estate, five things move the day count: how many platforms are in scope, how many user roles each has, how many partner integrations connect to it, how many apps and cloud accounts sit behind it, and how large the perimeter is.

• Number of platforms. A booking engine, a crew rostering portal and a maintenance-record system are three separate tests, even when one vendor supplies them all.
• User roles and tenants. A platform with passenger, agent, call-centre and administrator roles takes longer than a single-role portal. A platform shared across an airline group or alliance adds a tenant boundary to test.
• Partner integrations. Interline, GDS and OTA connections are tested as APIs in their own right, with attention to object-level authorisation. See API penetration testing cost.
• Apps and cloud. Passenger and crew apps, and the AWS, Azure or GCP accounts behind them, add days when they are in scope.
• Perimeter size. The number of internet-facing addresses and subdomains sets the length of the infrastructure work.

Tester grade is not a pricing factor, and neither is the size of the testing company or of your own. Two quotes for the same scope should differ mainly in the number of days. If one quote is much lower, compare the day counts first.

How does the CAA’s ASSURE audit affect the price?

It is priced separately. The CAA’s ASSURE page says that, where an ASSURE audit is needed, you select a supplier from the list of accredited suppliers and arrange the commercial and financial aspects of the audit yourself. The figures on this page are for penetration tests, not for ASSURE audits.

Aviation organisations can use a CREST-accredited company or an ASSURE provider, depending on what their requirement states. EJN Labs is CREST-accredited. Our guide to the NIS Regulations and penetration testing covers the wider regulatory picture for operators of essential services.

What is included, and what costs extra?

A quote should cover scoping, testing, the report, a walkthrough of the findings and a retest. Ask every company you approach to confirm each of those in writing, because retests and out of hours work are the two items that most often appear later as extra charges.

With EJN Labs, the quote is a fixed price for a defined scope. It includes:

• Testing by UK-based, CREST-certified testers.
• Findings in a client portal as they are confirmed, each with a CVSS score.
• The report on the last day of testing, and a walkthrough call.
• Free retests until findings are resolved.
• Out of hours slots, with no out-of-hours, callout, cancellation or rescheduling fees.

What changes the price is a change of scope: a platform added after the quote, extra user roles, or a larger perimeter than the one described. If the scope grows, you get a new fixed price before any extra work starts.

How do you get a quote, and what will you be asked?

Send the list of systems you want tested and say who has asked for the evidence. A testing company needs a few facts about each system to count the days. Having them ready is the fastest way to a firm price, and it makes quotes from different companies comparable.

1. Which systems are in scope: booking and PNR, crew, maintenance, ground operations, apps, cloud.
2. For each web platform, the number of user roles and whether partners, agents or other carriers use it.
3. For each integration, whether it is a REST, SOAP or message-based interface, and roughly how many endpoints it has.
4. For the perimeter, roughly how many internet-facing addresses and remote access services you have.
5. For cloud, the number of accounts, subscriptions or projects.
6. Who asked for the test, and the exact wording: a customer security review, an insurance form, a payment partner or your own policy.
7. Any dates to avoid, such as peak travel periods, schedule changes or audits.

How EJN Labs approaches pricing for aviation

EJN Labs is a CREST-accredited UK penetration testing company with a dedicated aviation service. We scope each system by what it does and who uses it, count the days, and give you one fixed price for the defined scope.

We test passenger booking and PNR systems, crew rostering portals, maintenance and engineering platforms, interline, GDS and OTA integrations, airport ground operations systems, cloud infrastructure and mobile apps. For maintenance and engineering, we test the record-keeping platform, never a live aircraft system. Testing is safe by default on production, with no denial of service, and retests are free until findings are resolved.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does a penetration test cost for an airline or airport supplier?

Typically £2,200 to £42,000 in the UK market. A perimeter-only test of 2 to 3 days is £2,200 to £4,200. A crew or maintenance portal at 5 days is £5,500 to £7,000. A booking platform with integrations, cloud and perimeter, at 20 to 30 days, is £22,000 to £42,000. These ranges use UK day rates of £1,100 to £1,400.

Is an ASSURE audit included in a penetration test price?

No. An ASSURE audit is a separate engagement, and the CAA says you arrange its commercial and financial aspects yourself. The prices on this page are for penetration tests. Aviation organisations can use a CREST-accredited company or an ASSURE provider, depending on what their requirement states. EJN Labs is CREST-accredited.

Do you test live aircraft or flight systems?

No. For maintenance and engineering we test the record-keeping platform, such as technical-log and sign-off systems, never a live aircraft system. Scope is agreed system by system before the quote, so you know exactly which platforms are tested.

Is a retest included in the price?

With EJN Labs, yes. Retests are free until findings are resolved, so the report you hand to a customer or insurer can show which findings are closed. Ask every other company to state in writing whether a retest is included, because it is one of the items most often charged separately.

Can testing be done without disrupting bookings or check-in?

Yes. Testing is safe by default on production, with no denial of service, and out of hours slots are available if you prefer to test when traffic is lowest. There are no out-of-hours, callout, cancellation or rescheduling fees. Tell us about peak travel periods when you ask for a quote.

Get a quote for your estate

Tell us which systems are in scope and who has asked for the evidence. Request a fixed-price quote and we will come back with the number of days, the price and the earliest start date.

Related: CAA ASSURE and CAP 1753: Does UK Aviation Need a Penetration Test?, Best Penetration Testing Companies for UK Aviation, penetration testing for UK aviation, penetration testing cost in the UK, mobile app penetration testing cost and PCI DSS penetration testing cost.