A 2007 deal signed by Saudi Arabia’s civil aviation authority with the Société Internationale de Télécommunications Aéronautiques (Sita)  has helped Saudi international airports streamline and improve passenger tra-vel experience, reduce waiting times and improve security, says a Sita official.

“All airlines using Saudi Arabia’s airports now experience a number of direct benefits including the use of their own departure control systems and improved standards governing their baggage operations,” said Sita’s Middle East and North Africa vice president Hani El-Assaad.

At the time the 2007 deal was signed with Sita, the kingdom’s General Authority of Civil Aviation (Gaca) was looking for flexible and reliable IT solutions that would enable it to automate operations in a cost-effective way.

“Since signing the five-year $16.8 million deal with Gaca, Sita has helped propel a business transformation of Saudi Arabia’s international airports,” said a spokesman of the company.  The international airports are King Abdul Aziz, Jeddah; King Khaled, Riyadh; King Fahd, Dammam, and Prnce Mohamad, Medina.

Sita focused on departure control systems, passenger check-in and baggage management. Solutions included its state-of-the-art airport IT systems such as Airport Connect Open for check-in, MaestroDCS Local (departure control system) and BagManager for automated passenger and bag reconciliation.

Well-balanced solution
“Sita proposed a well-balanced solution that satisfied our technical aspirations, IATA regulations and recommendations and our financial expectations,” said Mohammed Ali Alhaddad, director, business development and properties, King Abdul Aziz International Airport.

“Sita’s worldwide experience, its local presence and its large international market share in our regions of interest were also important factors in our decision.”

Sita’s Airport Connect Open works as an IT airport platform that enables airlines operating from all four Saudi international airports to have their own proprietary applications running on Cute (common-use terminal equipment). Sita’s Airport Connect Open is the most popular airline check-in and boarding system in use today.

“Helping reduce pressure on airport space and providing airlines with greater flexibility, Airport Connect Open has provided a solution to the challenges faced by Gaca, including the seasonal traffic demands faced during Haj – the annual pilgrimage to Makkah,” said Alhaddad.

Sita’s MaestroDCS Local is a fully automated check in, boarding control and weight and balance system for aircraft departure control. The system was designed by Sita for airports, airlines, ground handlers and charter companies and has provided low-cost, easy-to-use check-in and departure control for Saudi airports.

The company’s BagManager is the industry’s leading baggage reconciliation system (BRS) and has provided Gaca airports with tighter security, improved customer service and better baggage control by tracking and recording the location of each bag within an airport and even across multiple airports and thereby ensuring that passengers and their baggage travel together.

As a result of Sita’s solutions, the four international Saudi airports meet the International Civil Aviation Organisation’s (ICAO) security recommendations, said Alhaddad.

Smoother operations
 “Keeping the airports’ Cute and BRS systems constantly updated makes airline operations smoother and facilitates faster traffic handling, resulting in a more relaxing experience,” the official added.

Sita has worked on projects in other major airports in and around the Gulf.

For Bahrain International Airport, it was contracted to upgrade radio network communications as the old analogue radio system failed to cope with the increased capacity. The airport chose Sita’s Professional Mobile Radio solution as part of a five-year agreement. The new radio solution cost-effectively brings all users including ground operations staff, airlines and other stakeholders onto a single radio platform whilst reducing the number of radio terminals required at the airport.

The new radio technology boasts enhanced security, better communication quality and a lower total cost of ownership.

At Sharjah International Airport, Sita implemented in 2010 the world’s first Arabic self check-in kiosks. The new kiosks have allowed the airport to increase capacity during peak times and avoid the need to invest in fixed check-in areas.

Sita has developed the world’s first Common Use Self Service (Cusss) kiosks with an Arabic interface. It has already provided Air Arabia, Nas Air, Sama, Indian Airlines, Indian Express and Jet Airways with the kiosks which are available with Arabic and English interfaces.

At Jordan’s Queen Alia International Airport, J&P chose Sita to provide its complete suite of airport IT solutions. The $750 million terminal is scheduled to open in early 2012 with the aim to increase annual passenger flow from 3.2 million to 9 million.

Sita’s systems integration will provide a total airport IT solution operating 70 check-in counters, 18 departure gates, 16 tranfer desks, 10 check-in kiosks and 133 flight display screens. A further expansion is planned which will bring total capacity to 12 million passengers.

As well as providing tailored IT solutions to the aviation industry, Sita commissions a number of surveys each year that provide and insight into upcoming trends in the aviation industry. Surveys include the 2010 Airport IT Trends survey conducted in Bermuda, the 2010 Sita/Air Transport World Passenger Self-Service Survey and the Sita 2010 Baggage Report.

Sita provides services for over 550 air transport industry members and 3,200 customers in over 200 countries and territories. The company had consolidated revenues of $1.49 billion in 2009.