AAI partners with SITA to improve passenger experience at 25 Indian airports

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) today announced that SITA, the global IT provider for the air transport industry, has been selected to equip 25 airports with its common-use passenger processing system to improve the experience of tens of millions of passengers. This announcement follows the successful implementation of SITA’s passenger systems at 13 AAI airports, which was part of the first phase of an airports modernization plan by AAI. In total, 38 airports managed by AAI will now enjoy the benefits of improved check-in, boarding and new self-service facilities thanks to SITA’s advanced technology.

In this seven-year agreement, SITA will provide AirportConnect Open, the common-use passenger processing system which allows airports to maximize the use of check-in counters and gates. SITA will supply 700 workstations together withcommon use self-service(CUSS) kiosks across the 25 airports, including at Chennai, Kolkata and Pune.

Through shared use among all the airlines operating at the airports, SITA’s CUSS kiosks offer multiple services to the passenger and will allow these airports to increase capacity during surges in traffic. This flexibility avoids the need to invest in fixed check-in areas. With the CUSS kiosks, SITA will provide an end-to-end managed solution complementing other airport check-in services available at the 25 airports.

As part of the above agreement, SITA has ensured the readiness of these systems before the inauguration of the new integrated terminals at Kolkata and Chennai airports to ease the transition of airlines. For more than 50 million passengers that use these 25 airports annually, this means that they will enjoy more efficient check-in and boarding and have self-service kiosks available.

V P Agrawal, Chairman, Airports Authority of India, said: “This strategic partnership with SITA is part of our Airports Modernisation Plan which includes the new the state-of-art terminals like Chennai, Kolkata, Bhubaneswar, Raipur, Ranchi, Indore, Chandigarh and Pune. We have identified Chennai and Kolkata airports as having great potential to become major hubs serving many international airlines.

“Working together with SITA we have devised a solution that provides India’s airports with world-class technology to provide flexibility to airports and airlines in enhancing passenger facilitation. We were pleased to agree a revenue-sharing model and are confident that this partnership with SITA will assist the future growth of Indian aviation.”

Hani El-Assaad, SITA President, Middle East, India and Africa, said: “SITA’s long-standing role in India’s aviation industry continues as we move forward with this seven-year agreement to supply world-class technology at 25 of the Airports Authority of India airports across the country. We look forward to developing the industry in line with global standards so that India’s hundreds of millions of passengers that fly each year enjoy a world-class experience.”

Maneesh Jaikrishna, SITA Vice President, India and Subcontinent, said: “SITA is already working with the AAI on this implementation and passengers will begin to experience the benefits of this new technology at the integrated passenger terminals in 2013.

“This project by AAI includes the largest multi-airport implementation of passenger systems in the country and will bring benefits to all stakeholders including airlines and passengers. The self-service check-in kiosks will improve passenger processing and customer service, while maintaining flexibility for airports and airlines.”

AAI manages and operates 125 airports, including 19 international and seven custom airports, across India and now with this roll out, SITA’s technology will be used at more than 38 airports in India supporting the expansion and modernization of the country’s infrastructure.