The five year multi million dollar agreement includes the supply of common use self service (CUSS) kiosks and over 80 Airport connect Open workstations for check in, boarding, load control and baggage areas, Illya Gutlin, Vice President Airport solutions SITA, told reporters here.
'We are in the process of deploying similar facilities in 13 non metro airports in the country, including Kozhikode and Thiruvananthapuram airports by early next year', he said.
Pointing that the new systems increases security for all airlines and reduces baggage mishandling at the airports, he said as per estimates about 25 million baggage gets delayed per year. 'We are trying to intorduce a system early next year to cut in the delays in transit at transit airports. So we will work with Mumbai and Delhi airports for the systems', he said.
CIAL has also introduced SITA's passenger-bag reconciliation and message distributions solutions-BagManager and BagMesage to ensure the right bag gets to the right plane while increasing passenger satisfaction enhancing security ad saving costs for the airlines which use the airport.
Through the use of SITA AirportConnect CUSS kiosks and common use workstations provides advanced passenger services to the 24 airlines that fly domestic and international routes from here. CUSS kiosks enable multiple airlines to share self service kiosks for faster passenger check in, while the common use platform also allows shared airline use of the more than 80 workstations ensure a more efficient airport for airlines and passengers alike, Maneesh Jaikrishna, Director South Asia and India, SITA, said
AirportConnect Open workstations and CUSS kiosks also support the use of 2D barcode technology at the airport which facilitates fast and conveneitn check in and boarding thus ensuring that CIAL meets IATA's deadline for the 100 per cent adoption of bar coded boarding passes this year,he said.
CIAL Managing Director Dr C G Krishnadas Nair, said the airport was marketting vigorously for direct flights to Europe and North America. The airport was also hoping that the passenger traffic would go up with better facilities.
Through more efficient check in, boarding and baggage management the airport was looking forward to reduced congestion and faster aircraft turnarounds, CIAL director, A K C Nair said.
The Kochi airport is the first internationa airport in India to be set up under the public-private partnership mode. It has received investments from nearly 10,000 NRIs from 30 countries and is now the fourth busiest airport in the country in terms of international traffic. pti ud SS 11091607
(THROUGH ASIA PULSE)
09-11 2010