SITA has launched its common-use, API-powered platform, SITA Flex, at Passenger Terminal Expo.
Powered by application programming interfaces (APIs), SITA Flex uses Microsoft Azure to give clients the cloud without the need for a traditional common-use environment. With this solution, airline staff can be completely mobile, untethered from fixed points in the airport such as a check-in counter or kiosk. Agents can use their airline’s applications on a mobile device, anywhere. This enables staff to check in passengers in remote locations or launch agent-roaming services to manage traffic peaks or irregular operations. This was intended to offer airlines the tools to better manage rapid changes in the airport as traffic numbers surge without sacrificing the passenger experience.
SITA Flex also uses APIs to prevent congestion and improve passenger flow. The solution was intended to provide data insights that enable airports to manage their activities in a smart and environmentally sustainable manner. According to the company, SITA Flex as a Service will provide the foundation for building powerful, real-time process improvements and digital applications.
With this solution, airlines no longer need to undergo the certification process through their common-use providers, giving them the option to deploy their applications when they choose. It also enables airlines to provide a mobile experience to passengers by creating bespoke passenger processing features and streamlining airlines’ app development process, facilitating faster scaling.
At the expo Sergio Colella, president of SITA Europe, said, “As the industry recovers and passengers return to the airport, there is an increased need for airports and airlines to automate the passenger journey further, while also ensuring that the operations that support them are sustainable, both financially and environmentally. We strongly believe that smart technology, automation and digitalization are the only ways our industry can create cohesion between profitability, safety and sustainability. At SITA, we have focused our attention and resources on these key areas to ensure our product development is accelerated to meet market demand.”
Drew Griffiths, head of airports at SITA, said, “As the air transport industry moves toward a mobile-first passenger experience, we’re excited by the agility and freedom that SITA Flex offers our customers, deploying their applications without needing to first certify changes and therefore reducing costs. For the passenger it means a rich, fluid and convenient experience, using their mobile phone as a remote control for travel to easily manage things like check-in and printing bag tags.”