SITA to provide baggage tracking to Nagpur Intl Airport

Global airlines IT services solution major SITA will provide its check-in, boarding and baggage tracking technology to Nagpur International Airport, which will allow it to handle rapidly increasing passenger traffic.

The Nagpur airport is operated under a joint venture company, MIHAN India Limited (MIL), in which Maharashtra Airport Development Company and Airports Authority of India holds 51 per cent and 49 per cent stake, respectively.

The airport is expected to accommodate up to 14 million passengers once completed in 2035, according to SITA.

As part of the new agreement announced between the two partners at the SITA Air Transport Summit here today, MIHAN will deploy SITA's common-use technology, enabling airlines and their handling agents to access their IT applications in real-time on shared common-use equipment.

The two-day annual event concluded here today. SITAs common use terminal equipment (CUTE) and common use self service (CUSS) allows any airline to use any agent desk, gate position or self-service kiosk for passenger check-in and bag drop.

"These solutions will allow the Nagpur airport to cater to increasing traffic without having to invest in building additional infrastructure," SITA vice president for Indian subcontinent, Eastern & Southern Africa, Maneesh Jaikrishna said.

At the same time, the airport authorities will be able to provide best-in-class facilities for airlines and passengers alike, he said adding the tie-up with the Nagpur Airport is part of the company's commitment to making India not only one of the biggest aviation markets, but increasingly more efficient and passenger friendly.

According to the company, the implementation baggage tracking solution SITABagManager will help MIHAN accurately tracking passengers bags and significantly reduce the number of cases of baggage mishandling.

"As an airport operator, it is essential we have the right technologies in place to make sure the operations are highly efficient from day one and that they are future-proofed for our growth. SITAs technology no doubt will support MIHANs requirements" MIHAN senior airport director VS Mulekar said.