South India's busiest airport selects SITA for passenger processing

BENGALURU, India - South India’s busiest airport, Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru (KIAB) which serves India’s “Silicon Valley” tech hub, will use passenger processing technology from air transport IT specialist, SITA, to help manage its more than 15 million annual passengers. The seven-year, multi-million dollar contract includes SITA’s AirportConnect® Open passenger processing platform, the latest self-service check-in kiosks and SITA’s baggage reconciliation service, BagManager. Hari Marar, President, Airport Operations, Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL), said: “Kempegowda Airport, being the gateway to a city which is one of the Top Technology Innovation hubs in the world, continues to adopt next generation technology to enhance the overall passenger experience." “We chose SITA because we wanted a single supplier that could provide a complete passenger processing platform and baggage reconciliation system, support both systems, and also help us implement the new CUSS platform with both Bag Tag and Boarding Pass options. SITA has a proven track record in delivering innovative solutions to airports globally as well as in India by virtue of their strong relationships with the airlines. And that makes them a trusted partner of choice for us.” In total, 180 common-use workstations and 30 new common-use self-service (CUSS) kiosks, which allow passengers to print their own boarding passes and also tag their own bags, will run on the SITA AirportConnect Open platform. All 31 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. This ensures maximum flexibility and convenience for the airlines, airport and passengers too. SITA’s baggage reconciliation service will continue to provide the airport with comprehensive baggage management, delivering real-time information on baggage status and helping resolve issues quickly and efficiently. In addition, SITA’s BagMessage service ensures on-time departures with a fully managed and secure baggage message distribution system. SITA will implement all platforms and systems for the airport and will manage end-to-end support. Maneesh Jaikrishna, Vice-President, India and Sub-continent, SITA, said: “BIAL and SITA introduced India’s first passenger baggage reconciliation system at this airport in 2007. Since then, the airport continues to grow quickly and its needs are constantly evolving. Implementing SITA’s latest passenger and baggage management technology will help facilitate that growth by simplifying airport operations and improving passenger flow and efficiency." “SITA is proud to be a partner to BIAL in pioneering the implementation of the first bag tag printing at self-service kiosks in India. We will be extending these solutions to 40 other airports in the country.” Bengaluru, formerly called Bangalore, is known as the “Silicon Valley” of India. Its airport, KIAB, was the first in India, to be constructed through a public-private partnership and in seven years of operation it has experienced significant growth. In March 2015, the airport reported that it now serves more than 15 million passengers, a rise of 19.3% over the previous year. SITA’s world-class systems will go into operation at Kempegowda in June 2015 when passengers will enjoy enhanced self-service. sourced:traveldialynews.asia