SITA behind AAI airport ops transformation
Courtesy Tshrinivasan
It includes inter-airport collaboration, with airport operations control centres (AOCCs) linking to the central control at Chennai International Airport (above) and a back-up site at Kolkata. This is a unique implementation with features never seen before in Asia. The result is that the Airports Authority of India (AAI) now has an overview of all 10 airports, enabling optimisation of resources and equipment as well as proactive control over operations.
The 10 airports are Chennai International Airport, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad, Pune Airport, Tiruchirapalli International Airport, Trivandrum International Airport in Thiruvananthapuram, Calicut International Airport, Mangalore Airport, Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport in Guwahati and Jaipur International Airport.
The introduction of SITA’s Airport Management solution, which SITA deployed in partnership with NIIT, was completed in June 2015. It is already bringing operational efficiencies, data security and reduced revenue leakage. At the core of the new system is the airport authority’s command and control center, which monitors and manages operations at all 10 airports in real-time.
Maneesh Jaikrishna, SITA Vice President for India and Subcontinent, said: “The scope AAI gave SITA was to provide an airport management system integrated seamlessly with various third-party systems. We have delivered it on time and on budget. The result is enhanced inter-airport collaboration using easy-to-use modules for operational planning, giving the airports the flexibility needed to plan and improve business results through a highly integrated approach. Everyone benefits. As well as increased efficiency, the automation of flight processing and key processes helps provide more accurate information to passengers. And it facilitates accurate and faster billing cycles for airlines.”
Ravi Prakash, Executive Director (IT, FIU and RCDU), AAI, said: “The new Airport Management system (AMS) will improve efficiency, streamline operations and provide AAI unprecedented visibility and control across 10 airports in India. SITA’s AMS solution has enabled the airports and their stakeholders - including airlines, customs, immigration and ground handlers - to collaborate around the same real-time information and make fully-informed decisions on resources and other issues. The Airport Operations Control Centre (AOCC) facilitates collaborative decisions to handle gate-to-gate solutions and elevate customers’ travel experience. SITA, as a strategic partner has also enabled AAI with CUSS, CUTE and BRS solutions, along with air-to-ground channels that enable DCL (pre-departure, flight clearance through datalink) systems and CPDLC. These systems have collectively enhanced passenger experience, operational efficiency and safety of aircraft operations.”
SITA’s Airport Management solution is also a stepping stone for the 10 airports to adopt airport collaborative decision making (A-CDM). A-CDM is a unified operational process that begins with the activation of an air traffic control flight plan and covers both arrival and ground-handling activities and procedures through to an aircraft’s turnaround and departure. For example, during peak periods, if queues at check-in and security grow too long, the airport can work with its partners to add more staff and reduce wait times.
Jaikrishna concluded: “The successful conclusion of the implementation, and the seven-year maintenance programme, reinforces SITA's dominant presence in India’s airports: SITA now supports 41 out of India’s 43 passenger airports.”
