SITA technology transforms Egypt Hurghada Airport

Hurghada International Airport—the gateway to Egypt’s Red Sea Riviera—is transforming the passenger experience at its new terminal with airport solutions from air transport IT specialist, SITA.  The airport is using SITA’s passenger processing platform, baggage management and airport operations systems to enhance the passenger experience with new self-service options, the latest baggage management solutions and shorter queues.

The new solutions are also helping the airport improve operational efficiency by integrating airport systems and providing a single control point for airport operations.

Dr. Eng. Mahmoud Esmat, Chairman of Egyptian Holding Company for Airports and Air Navigation, said: “SITA was able to provide us with a complete solution that corresponded exactly to our needs. We have worked with SITA for many years, and we appreciate their strong presence and support team in Egypt.”

Eng. Ismail Aboulez, Chairman and CEO of the Aviation Information Technology Company (AVIT), the organization that manages the airport, said: “We have made major renovations at Hurghada Airport to better serve the growing number of leisure passengers in the region as Egypt’s tourism sector continues to recover. SITA’s airport solutions incorporate the industry’s most advanced technology and align with industry trends, such as self-service. So we’re creating a more enjoyable passenger experience, while at the same time cutting costs and improving operational efficiency.”

SITA has implemented a full range of industry-leading airport solutions in Hurghada. SITA’s AirportConnect Open  passenger processing platform provides the airport with more than 135 common-use workstations and 10 common-use AirportConnect Kiosk self-service kiosks for check-in.  With the new platform, all airlines using the airport can access their respective IT applications in real-time on shared equipment. They can also use any airport desk, gate or self-service kiosk for passenger check-in and boarding for maximum flexibility and convenience.

SITA’s Airport Management Solution helps integrate and simplify operations management so the airport has a single control point and can take action as needed. This includes an advanced resource management tool, AirportResource Manager, which enables the airport to manage resources and equipment in real time and make sure they are available when and where they are needed.

And SITA’s BagManager baggage management system is improving baggage processing efficiency at the airport, while simplifying baggage operations and facilitating on-time departures.

Hani El-Assaad, SITA President, Middle East, India & Africa said: “SITA has partnered with Egypt’s Aviation Information Technology Company for more than a decade, helping to facilitate its strategic growth plans with innovative technology. We worked very closely together on this project to design and deliver an in-house turnkey solution aligned with the airport’s specific needs.”

Hurghada International Airport provides regular service to the Egyptian capital, Cairo, and offers direct connections to several European destinations. More than 40 airlines offer seasonable charter flights to cities in Eastern and Western Europe, Scandinavia and Russia. The new terminal, which was officially inaugurated in December 2014, will raise the airport’s capacity by 115% to 13 million passengers annually.