SITA in $16.8mn Saudi airport deal

SITA has signed an agreement with the Saudi General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) to automate passenger and baggage processing at all four of Saudi Arabia's international airports.

The air transport IT business solutions provider will implement an IT investment program focused on departure control systems, passenger check-in and baggage management, valued at $16.8 million, over the next five years.

"We were facing a number of challenges in managing our international airports and recognised the need for flexible and proven IT systems that will enable us to integrate and automate our operations in a cost-effective manner to the benefit of both airlines and passengers," said H.E. Abdullah Ruhaimy, GACA president.

"Our five-year agreement with SITA will transform the international airport environment here in Saudi Arabia through the smart deployment of IT that will automate and streamline the check-in process in order to avoid delays. Security will be enhanced by ensuring passenger and bag reconciliation at all times."

SITA will implement the new systems at the international airports of King Abdul-Aziz, Jeddah, King Khaled, Riyadh, King Fahd, Dammam, and Prince Mohamad, Medina.to handle all foreign airlines' departure passengers using these airports.

The deal includes state-of-the-art airport IT solutions: AirportConnect CUTE (Common Use Terminal Equipment) for check-in, BagManager for automated passenger and bag reconciliation to reduce mishandling rates, and Maestro Local DCS (Departure Control System).

Hani El-Assaad, SITA regional vice-president, Middle East & Turkey, said, "The award of this Saudi GACA contract is a major milestone for SITA and strengthens our overall ability to serve the Saudi air transport community.

"All the airlines using the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's airports will experience a number of direct benefits including the use of their own departure control systems and improved security standards governing their baggage operations."

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