ASTANA – Astana International Airport, Kazakhstan’s second-largest international airport, has introduced SITA’s AirportVision flight information display systems to provide real-time flight information to its growing passenger base.
“SITA’s flight information systems give us a cost-effective way to keep passengers informed, while helping to facilitate passenger flows,” Radilbek Adimolda, Astana International Airport’s deputy chairman of the board, said, according to a joint press release from the two companies.
Astana Airport has seen rapid development along with the capital city. Passenger traffic here is growing at a rate of 15% annually. In 2013, the airport handled more than 2.6 million passengers and 8.4 tons of cargo. Astana Airport serves more than 15 airlines and operates 120 flights per day both within the Commonwealth of Independent States and to other regions. The airport’s quality management system in passenger service and fueling operations is certified as complying with ISO standards.
In recent years, Astana Airport and SITA, one of the world’s leading companies in air transport communications and IT solutions, have partnered on several airport modernization projects.
SITA’s next generation Airport Management solution, the first in Kazakhstan, enables the airport to monitor and control its operations in real time. Another company-developed product, AirportConnect Open is a passenger processing system allowing the airport and its airlines and handling agents to access their respective IT applications in real time on shared equipment. It also enables any airline to use any agent desk, gate position or self-service kiosk for passenger check-in, bag drop and boarding. SITA’s departure control system, MaestroDCS Local, automates departure control processes at the airport, which improves productivity, accuracy and security.
“Over the last two years, Astana International Airport has transformed itself into an intelligent airport, which can track, manage and share real-time information,” Dmitry Krasnov, SITA’s vice president for Russia and CIS, said. “Our most recent deal with Astana is a natural extension of the airport’s leading-edge airport management and passenger processing systems.”
SITA delivers and manages business solutions for airline, airport, Global Distribution System (GDS), government and other customers over the world’s most extensive network, which forms the communications backbone of the global air transport industry.
SITA’s portfolio includes managed global communications, infrastructure and outsourcing services, as well as services for airline commercial management and passenger operations, flight operations, aircraft operations and air-to-ground communications, airport management and operations, baggage operations, transportation security and border management, cargo operations and more.
With a customer service team of more than 2,000 staff around the world, SITA invests in achieving best-in-class customer service, providing integrated local and global support for both its communications and IT application services.
According to the company information, SITA’s global reach is based on local presence, with services for around 450 air transport industry members and 2,800 customers in 200 countries and territories. Set up in 1949 with 11 member airlines, today SITA employs people of more than 140 nationalities, speaking over 70 different languages. In 2012, it had consolidated revenues of US$1.57 billion.
