SITA agrees partnership with Geneva Airport to improve traveller experience

Deal sees self-service available at check-in, bag drop and security to reduce wait times and offer greater flexibility to travellers

by Aidan Poole

Air transport IT specialist SITA has expanded the firm’s tie-up with Geneva Airport to bring passengers a quicker journey from check-in to boarding.

The deal sees self-service available at check-in, bag drop and security using SITA’s digital processing technology, providing shorter wait times and greater flexibility to travellers from Geneva.

Geneva Airport will soon introduce an Airport Operations System (AOS) for the optimization of operations and real-time information sharing to passengers and airport staff.

The innovations come as part of an update to the airport to improve passenger experience while preparing the airport for future demands.

SITA has also recently brought self-bag drop and pre-security e-gates to Lufthansa Group airlines.

The firm will deliver 15 Smart Path Scan and Fly Mini self-bag drop units and 30 Smart Path TS6 kiosks with payment functionality by summer 2023.

SITA’s TS6 kiosk was the winner of the 2021 IF award for its customisable design to accommodate branding and its biometric capabilities for face scanning as passenger identification.

Geneva Airport will be the first to use SITA’s point-to-point encryption (P2PE) certified payment solution, which will help passengers pay for services including excess baggage or ski allowances using contactless payments during self-bag drop.

The self-service ability to handle skis is a first for EasyJet passengers flying from Geneva.

Passengers flying long-haul can use SITA’s Smart Path boarding gates in Geneva’s East Wing, where scanning their mobile phone makes the boarding pass check contactless.

The innovation is part of an experience where passengers can board long-haul flights from the gate without interaction.

SITA also plans to streamline the passenger experience, increase operational efficiency and modernize the airport’s operations management using AOS capabilities.

Geneva Airport’s AOS will bring a unified view of the airport to stakeholders by incorporating operations management, resource allocation, and real-time information sharing.

The tie-up with SITA will empower the airport to make choices to verify that operations are synchronized with the improved passenger journey to the gate.

André Schneider, chief executive of Geneva Airport, said: “The investment in our terminal infrastructure is as much about the requirements for a new automated and more digitalized passenger journey today as it is about preparing for future requirements.

“It’s an exciting time for Geneva Airport, and we have a strong partner in SITA to support us on this journey.”

Sergio Colella, president for Europe at SITA, said: “Geneva Airport has underlined its commitment to delivering a seamless passenger journey with SITA.

“By leveraging the latest self-service technologies and harnessing the power of data, Geneva is increasing its capacity and taking the airport experience to the next level — improving customer satisfaction, shortening queues, and reducing costs.

“With our over 20-year track record of supporting Geneva with smart technologies, we couldn’t be more excited to build on this partnership and help make the airport’s vision for a more seamless passenger journey a reality.”