Airport IT infrastructure: the beating heart of every modern airport

An Industry Insight by Jeff Amiri, SITA

SITA has been providing IT solutions in airports ever since it was originally set up by a group of 11 of the world’s airlines in 1949. Today, the dedicated provider of IT to the air transport industry works closely with airports all around the world, reducing the total cost of ownership of their IT portfolio while delivering the maximum benefits of technological innovation.

“SITA has been building on a strong heritage of innovation for almost 60 years”
-Jeff Amiri, SITA

Today’s air transport industry (ATI) is the most interconnected, massively interdependent business on earth, comprising some 2000 airlines operating a fleet of 23,000 aircraft serving close to 4,000 airports through a global route network spanning several million kilometres. With passenger numbers and cargo volumes continuing to grow, existing airports need to be upgraded and expanded and new airports need to be built. But for anyone planning to build or upgrade an airport, or simply manage an existing airport, coordinating operations and simplifying processes while delivering better service to a broad range of customers is a huge challenge. That’s where SITA can help.

As the specialist provider of integrated IT business solutions and communication services for the world’s air transport industry, SITA has been building on a strong heritage of innovation for almost 60 years – and in 2007, some 600 million passengers worldwide checked in using SITA systems.

Master System Integration

Today, SITA is bringing its unrivalled air transport know how and expertise to deliver Master System Integration (MSI) to airport owners, easing complexity and enabling better and more efficient airports to be built, upgraded, expanded or operated.

The first step is to understand an airport’s requirements, and SITA has a proven track record in not just listening to customers’ needs but in delivering high-quality systems that not only exceed expectations but also come in consistently on time and on budget.

SITA has worked successfully on major airport IT infrastructure projects around the world, from North and South America to Western Europe, Eastern Europe and the Middle East.

SITA also has a positive track record in engagements with multiple entities such as investors, operators, construction companies and consultants, and partners with them to deliver technical expertise and thereby reduce their exposure to risk.

The diagram below shows the different levels of SITA’s engagement with airports, from the initial development through to airport operations and management, and finally new business development.

SITA’s MSI is a fully-comprehensive offering to airports, covering not just products, services, solutions and technologies, but people as well. With decades of specialised aviation experience, SITA understands everything that exists in the market place today and what’s up and coming too – and uses its know how to identify products and solutions which complement its own offerings. When it is cost-effective, SITA also acquires companies that have complementary products, in order to expand its capabilities and reduce the cost of the bundled packages it offers customers.

A number of high-profile, as well as medium-sized airports, have come to SITA for outsourcing – and indeed, SITA has been working with airports in IT outsourcing partnerships since long before the term ‘outsourcing’ was even coined.

Outsourcing

Outsourcing with SITA combines:

• Unparalleled industry knowledge and expertise – and a proven track record in outsourcing with partners such as Düsseldorf Airport;
• An innovative and well-articulated vision of the airports of tomorrow, positioning IT as a key business enabler and a vital commercial asset;
• An integrated end-to-end airport portfolio which delivers SITA’s vision of the future while immediately delivering efficiencies and new revenue generation opportunities;
• Innovative community-focused solutions which offer the air transport industry greater cost-effectiveness – anywhere in the world;
• Experience in multiple outsourcing and partnership models to address customers’ business challenges and objectives;
• Local, regional and global availability;
• A unique position – SITA is owned by the ATI community, with the SITA Board comprising shareholders and customers from across the air transport industry.

Clients

Some of SITA’s recent airport clients include:

• Egypt’s Ministry of Civil Aviation – multiple airports in Egypt
• Ciudad Real Central Airport, Spain
• Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport, USA
• ASUR (Aeropuertos del Sureste) – multiple airports in Mexico
• Flughafen Düsseldorf International Airport, Germany
• Toronto Pearson International Airport, Canada
• Sheremetyevo International Airport, Moscow, Russia