Business & Finance Club - Abu Dhabi : Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC), owner and operator of all five airports in Abu Dhabi, and SITA, the aviation IT specialist, have inked a five-year deal to turn the emirate’s airports into high-tech centres for passenger processing.

As per the deal, SITA will maintain over 350 check-in counters, 24 self-service kiosks for multiple airline use and also upgrade the baggage reconciliation system across Abu Dhabi Airport’s three terminals, Al Ain International Airport, Al Bateen Executive Airport and Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC) terminal and City terminal.

The deal is aimed at bringing sweeping changes to all five airports in Abu Dhabi, said an ADAC statement.

Abu Dhabi airport, which saw 11.7 per cent passenger growth in the first half of this year, will become the first major hub in the Middle East to benefit from the new IATA CUPPS (Common Use Passenger Processing Systems) passenger processing standard following an agreement with SITA to upgrade its AirportConnect CUTE check-in platform to CUPPS now commercially available for the first time.

Michael Ibbitson, ADAC vice president Information and Communication Services, said Abu Dhabi airport was committed to delivering the best possible services to passengers and airline customers.

'We are pleased to partner with SITA in this upgrade of our passenger processing systems. Airlines in particular will appreciate our efforts to adopt the latest technology available that is developed by an organisation such as SITA, which took on the leading role in technology to implement the new IATA CUPPS standard.'

'This pioneering system will eventually replace CUTE and we at ADAC want to be an early adopter as it will mean more efficient processes for passengers and lower operating costs for airlines,' he added.

Hani El Assaad, SITA regional vice president for Mena, said: “SITA is proud to partner with the Abu Dhabi Airports Company in a project of this magnitude. The vision is clear, the United Arab Emirates is well on its way to becoming a centre for international excellence when it comes to managing passengers and delivering value to airlines.”