“This move is reshaping the entire aviation industry,”—top senior SITA official
SITA has announced the formal integration of IPS Intelligent Passenger Solutions into its SITA Airports portfolio. The move further positions SITA as the market leader in airport technology and innovation.
Under its new name, IPS, a SITA company, delivers a strengthened range of intelligent passenger solutions like self-service bag drop systems, kiosks, touchless scanners and printers, and associated technologies.
IPS, a SITA company, now sits alongside airport operations, passenger processing and baggage systems in a new gold standard for the Aviation Technology Industry (ATI) and passengers alike.
Regulatory formalities
SITA completed regulatory formalities and legal procedures to acquire IPS in July 2024 and, now combined, is supporting an unprecedented acceleration of global aviation industry digitalization, streamlining check-in, baggage handling, security, and airport operation processes alike.
To get the lowdown on these major revolutionary changes, LogisticsGulf.com interviewed Jihad Boueri, Vice President, Strategy & Transformation, Middle East & Africa, SITA. The following are the transcript of that exclusive interview.
LogisticsGulf.com (LG): Recently, SITA announced the integration of IPS Intelligent Passenger Solutions into its SITA Airports portfolio. Briefly, explain this incorporation and its implications thereon?
Jihad Boueri (JB): We have now formally integrated IPS Intelligent Passenger Solutions into our SITA Airports portfolio. This strategic acquisition, our biggest ever, marks a giant step forward in our global leadership in passenger processing, making us the undisputed leader in terms of end-to-end solutions at airports.
This move is reshaping the entire aviation industry, creating the world’s most powerful passenger portfolio for airports and digital travel. It brings to life our vision to reinvent travel and transport and plays a key part in our fast-growth strategy for the years ahead.
With air traffic set to double by 2040, airports and airlines must deliver smoother passenger experiences. This acquisition is a vital part of our focus on innovation and reinventing travel to meet pressing industry demands for increased terminal capacities and best-in-class secure solutions leading to easy travel for all passengers.
This will offer the industry a unique opportunity to transform airports from simple transit hubs to digital, personalized experiences for travellers across the world.
Under its new name, ‘IPS a SITA company’ delivers a strengthened range of intelligent passenger solutions including self-service bag drop systems, kiosks, touchless scanners and printers, and associated technologies. IPS a SITA company now sits alongside airport operations, passenger processing, and baggage systems in a new gold standard for the Aviation Technology Industry (ATI) and passengers alike.
In addition to IPS, a SITA company, the SITA Airports portfolio continues to lead the way in supporting the Aviation Transport Industry with market leading products and services.
These include technologies such as biometrics, with 85% of international air passengers served globally, Common Use Terminal Equipment (CUTE) and Common Use Self Service (CUSS) kiosks, together with Airport Management Systems (AMS) and Airside Optimizer solutions that deliver smooth, efficient and sustainable airport decision-making.
All help to support airports to maximize terminal capacities and deliver best-in-class secure solutions that provide ‘frictionless travel’ for passengers, where biometrics, facial recognition, and self-service solutions transform airports from simple transit hubs to digital, highly personalized travel experiences.
LG: Briefly explain Common Use Terminal Equipment (CUTE) and Common Use Self Service (CUSS) kiosks?
JB: In simple terms, it’s the aviation technology that enables any airline to log in to the same device within an airport. CUTE is the desk/station that a human would stand behind for passengers to check-in or drop bags. CUSS is a self-service kiosk that enables anyone for any airline to do the same (dependent on the kiosk functionality).
LG: What is the scale of deployment globally? How many Self-Bag Drop kiosks are already operational and in how many airports?
JB: More than 2,300 Self-Bag Drop kiosks are already deployed in over 120 airports globally, handling some 150,000 daily bag drops around the world. This makes IPS a SITA company the undisputable market leader in terms of end-to-end solutions at airports, with over 13 billion air passengers using its systems annually.
LG: When do you anticipate the roll-out globally to be completed?
JB: SITA completed regulatory formalities and legal procedures to acquire IPS in July. The process of fully bringing the two businesses together is projected for completion in early 2025.
This full alignment will support an unprecedented acceleration of global aviation industry digitalization, streamlining check-in, baggage handling, security, and airport operation processes alike. Travelers can expect to see reduced wait times, smoother journeys, and a new era of personalized and easy to use digital services.
LG: SITA recently announced the opening of a new technology hub in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, aimed at advancing the future of air travel through cutting-edge innovation. Tell us more.
JB: Our recently opened technology hub in Cluj-Napoca, Romania strengthens our global network of technology centers, joining our existing network of SITA technology hubs in London (United Kingdom), Letterkenny (Ireland), and New Delhi (India).
It is set to play a critical role in addressing the most pressing challenges facing the aviation industry today—enhancing operational efficiency, reducing environmental impact, and delivering seamless passenger experiences.
The Cluj-Napoca hub will focus on developing next-generation platforms that transform passenger processing and travel technologies. Airports and airlines are investing heavily in technology—airports alone are spending US$10.8 billion and airlines US$34.5 billion in IT (SITA Air Transport IT Insights 2023)—underscoring the urgent need for innovation.
SITA’s Cluj hub is at the forefront of this effort, contributing to the industry’s shift toward cloud-based, mobile, and self-service solutions that improve operational efficiency and sustainability.
By expanding our global technology capabilities with this new hub, we’re strengthening our ability to deliver scalable, secure, and privacy-centric digital identity solutions, such as the Digital Travel Credential (DTC).
This enables governments, airports, and airlines to adopt faster, real-time identity verification and passenger processing systems, ensuring compliance with global standards while enhancing the passenger experience.
The Cluj-Napoca hub not only contributes to advancing our global technology strategy but also supports the aviation industry’s broader digital transformation, helping to shape the future of air travel.
LG: How significant is the Middle East & Africa for SITA in the wider technological landscape?
JB: The Middle East and Africa play an absolutely crucial role in SITA’s global strategy and vision for the future of travel technology.
Airports, airlines, and governments across the Middle East and Africa have a stellar track record of being ahead of the curve in terms of innovation. They have an appetite for taking advantage of the most cutting-edge technologies, backed by substantial investments and strategic initiatives.
As an example, according to SITA’s 2023 Air Transport IT Insights research, airport CIOs in the Middle East and Africa boosted their IT spend as a percentage of revenue in 2022 and 2023 even as business benefitted from an uptick in travel demand, signalling just how crucial a role technology will play in the next-generation travel experience.
In particular, they boosted Capital IT spend, which points to a desire to implement technological innovations geared towards the long term.
SITA is working to bring technological innovation to a huge number of partners in the region, including Hamad Airport, Istanbul Airport, Casablanca Airport, Oman Airports, Bahrain Airport, and a full 30 airports in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (where we are supporting digital transformation as part of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030). We have also recently upgraded the passenger experience at Zayed and Casablanca airports with our groundbreaking end-to-end biometric passenger processing solution Smart Path.
We are also engaged in co-innovation projects in the region that are leading the industry towards a more efficient and sustainable future. One key collaboration has been with the Arab Air Carriers Organization (AACO). Together we are driving forward SITA Eco Mission, an innovative, data-driven solution that will assist airlines on their journey to become more sustainable and to demonstrate their efforts.
The Middle East and Africa continue to be a center of trailblazing progress in travel technology. Together with our partners in the region, we’re achieving amazing results.
LG: As the global leader in air transport technology, what is the SITA vision for seamless air travel for the short and/or long-term futures?
JB: Looking to the future, we remain dedicated to reinventing travel and transport. We will continue our trailblazing work on Digital Travel, bringing the benefits of end-to-end biometrics and Digital Travel Credentials to more partners globally.
Beyond the huge impacts of digital travel and the biometric passenger journey, a top priority of ours is harnessing the power of data to support the sustainability goals of airports and airlines, particularly with industry net-zero targets coming into view. 2024 has seen us launch our trailblazing airport management tool, the SITA Airport Operations Total Optimizer.
Using an AI-powered platform, it helps airports to manage every aspect of their operations. The solution brings sustainability into the heart of operational decision making. It means airports can monitor and report energy usage, emissions from aircraft and other vehicles, and their carbon footprint.
Last year we partnered with the Toronto Pearson Airport to deploy a prototype of Total Optimizer that was integrated with the Greater Toronto Airports Authority’s data sources. Staff were able to dynamically optimize stand allocation plans, simply by setting the relative priorities of the airport, resulting in savings and greater operational efficiencies—this is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of the platform’s potential benefits.
We’re also staying ahead of the curve in terms of emerging travel trends. Travel is becoming increasingly intermodal, with data from our 2024 Passenger IT Insights report indicating that 65% of travellers expect to book an intermodal trip in the next year.
We have the expertise to support with this, and we’re applying our decades of experience in air travel to enable seamless door-to-door travel across land, sea, and air. From combined check-in that unifies rail, cruise, and airline systems, to baggage tracking and real-time updates across every leg of the journey, we’re making it all a reality.
Finally, our recent strategic acquisitions and partnerships are further fortifying our global industry leadership, extending the benefits of our cutting-edge solutions to industries beyond air transport.
Through an agreement with Columbia Shipmanagement, world-class maritime service provider, we’ve launched SmartSea. SmartSea will bring our state-of-the-art technology to the maritime industry, reshaping it the way we’ve reshaped aviation.
