Smart Tech Behind Air Traffic
Air traffic is now being managed with new-age technology, which is becoming more popular by the day. Maneesh Jaikrishna, VP, Indian Subcontinent, Dubai, Eastern & Southern Africa, SITA discusses some technolicl aspects of it with us. Excerpts
MANEESH JAIKRISHNA, VP, Indian Subcontinent, Dubai, Eastern & Sothern Africe, SITA
Can you give details of Smart Path Technology and iBorder Management?
Following are some details:
SITA Smartpath
SITA Smart Path is ATI’s most comprehensive whole-journey identity management solution where your face is your boarding pass. SITA Smart Path uses digital biometric ID management technology to automate the travel journey from secure check-in to on-time boarding.
Designed to be modular, it easily integrates into existing airport infrastructure and airline systems, including standard common-use systems, check-in kiosks, bag drop units, self-service gates for secure access, boarding and automated border control. Biometrics is key to a truly walkthrough experience at the airport in a seamless and secured manner. Identity management falls under the advanced processing technology part of the New Experience in Travel and Technologies (NEXXT) program which is an initiative by IATA and ACI. Smart Path also integrates with government systems and databases, allowing secure immigration and border checks while minimizing security risks.
SITA has trialled or rolled out SITA Smart Path in 10 airports around the globe – from the USA to Australia. These airports are seeing the benefits of using biometric technology to automate passenger identity checks at airports across the world We have been successfully helping airports and airlines incorporate biometrics into their existing infrastructure and government systems through SITA Smart Path. This makes it easy and cost effective to implement.
Some airports such as Orlando, Athens and Miamiairports have taken the first steps towards implementing e-boarding process and automated passenger ID checks where passengers can use just their face as their passport or boarding card. In the US, SITA’s Smart Path is being used in place of the traditional boarding pass, ID check and a government border check. This is the airline and government
check in one step where the passenger merely steps up to a camera, has their images taken and them is given permission to board.
This technology has now been implemented at Orlando airport with British Airways and the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP). We gave British Airways’ passengers the option of biometric boarding at the gate, on flights from Orlando to London Gatwick and there was almost 100% take up. The airline was able to board a flight with 240 passengers in around 10 minutes. Based on this success, Orlando airport have now chosen SITA’s solution to be deployed at all of their 30 international gates and will be used by several airlines. More recently, Miami International Airport and Athens Airports have introduced SITA’s Smart Path. Passengers flying to Munich on Lufthansa flight 461 can now board with the quick click of a camera instead of a boarding pass and passport.
With global roll- out of SITA Smart Path, SITA is well positioned to help India lead the way in introducing 100% biometric air travel as a part of GoI ‘Digiyatra’ initiative. This technology can leverage Aadhar and can be seamlessly integrated in existing system. This will see passengers eliminate the need to carry documents and papers during their air travel.
iBorder Management
SITA’s iBorders Advanced Solutions is an integrated solution that provides governments with a complete set of capabilities to modernize border security through information, intelligence, optimized interactions with travelers and comprehensive insights to enhance every aspect of border operations.iBorders Advanced Solutions ensures government agencies always have the right information at the right time to make better-informed decisions.
iBorders Advanced Solution is capable of transforming border operations and improving the passenger experience. It ensures that the government agencies always have the right information at the right time to make better-informed decisions. These solutions allow governments to know who is coming in and leaving the country through the airports at any point in time. Governments can therefore accurately identify potential risks as early as possible in the border management process at the point of departure while ensuring passengers can be facilitated through the airports quickly. Passengers can therefore be facilitated through the airports quickly while the security agencies concentrate efforts on the suspects.
To strengthen national security by using biometric technology and identity verification through fingerprints. Mexico is strengthening border control by automating the entry process with the introduction of SITA’s Automated Border Control kiosksacross three major airports: Mexico City, Cancun and Los Cabos. The new kiosks will use biometric technology to capture fingerprints to verify passengers’ identities and improve national security.
Give some Insights on latest IT trends in air traffic
The future of air transport will be driven by big techno-trends and practices that will underpin the digital transformation in the industry globally. The adoption of these technologies is no longer confined to the airports and the airlines but a modern passenger is also quickly realizing the benefits of the same and understandhow it can contribute to a smoother passenger experience. Today’s traveller has evolved from using technology merely at pre-travel stages like booking and check-in to services like self-bag drop, boarding, bag collection, self-scanning gates using passport and biometrics.
In 2018, many travellers were carrying smartphones, tablets or laptops; while 17% were carrying all three devices. More than ever, passengers are keen to use benefits of mobile technologies and services which is evident with the growth in adoption of smart devices amongst users in recent times. Passengers hate losing time as they travel. They want to be in control, and kept informed along the way, to minimize stress. This is an area where we, at SITA, are strongly focused: Providing technology to automate, and even, eliminate tedious processes in the airport.
The latest SITA’s 2019 Passenger IT Insights explores how technology is contributing to a smoother passenger experience at every step of
Today’s traveller has evolved from using technology merely at pre-travel stages like booking and check-in to services like self-bag drop, boarding, bag collection, selfscanning gates using passport and biometrics
the journey. Among the notable highlights, the proportion of passengers sailing through automated passport control has risen from 21% in 2017 to 44% in 2018. Passenger satisfaction was 3.85% higher among those taking advantage of self-scanning gates to verify their ID compared to those using agent assisted controls. Passengers’ appetite for mobile services is also increasing, particularly for baggage tracking, where a lack of transparency can add stress to the journey.
According to SITA Passenger IT Insights 2019, 95% passengers would welcome the opportunity to receive bag collection notifications via their mobile devices on arrival. Where real-time mobile alerts were provided, passenger satisfaction was 8.6% higher than among those who had to rely on display screens or public announcements, indicating that this investment in technology – no doubt hastened by IATA’s Resolution 753 – is already paying off. This year’s study also investigates passengers’ consumption of free and paid-for services, before and during the journey. Wi-Fi is the most popular complimentary service, with 55% of passengers availing themselves of free connectivity during dwell time. Crucially, tech- enabled passengers are almost one and an half times more likely to consume paid services at the airport than non-tech users, making them a key focus for airports looking to increase non-aeronautical revenues.
Passengers are ready for more with nine out of ten potentially welcoming such self-services. India, being one of the fastest growing civil aviation markets globally, has shown even a greater promise when it comes to adopting mobile technology and is expected to rise further in years to come. Apart from that, we can see that Indians have used or are willing to use smart devices to plan their entire air travel at every step. Mentioned below is the comparison stats between global data and Indian data when it comes to several factors impacting air travel for passengers with a promising future to explore and implement newer technologies in the time to come.
There are several other trends, which are aligned with the goals of digital transformation. Future of aviation will ride on futuristic technologies like Artificial Intelligence, IoT, Blockchain and Biometrics, Mixed Reality to name a few.
Worldwide spending on artificial intelligence systems is forecast to reach $35.8 billion in 2019, an increase of 44.0% over the amount spent in 2018. Moreover, spending on AI systems will more than double to $79.2 billion in 2022 with a CAGR of 38.0% over the 2018-2022 forecast period. The number of enterprises implementing AI has tripled in just one year and there has been an increase of 270% in enterprise AI use over the past 4 years. India ranks third, after Singapore and Hong-Kong, in the Asia Pacific region on artificial intelligence readiness. AI has the potential to add US$957 billion, or 15% of India’s current gross value in 2035. The combination of the technology, data and talent that make intelligent systems possible has reached critical mass, driving extraordinary growth in AI investment.
The global spending on the Internet of Things is forecast to reach $745 billion in 2019, an increase of 15.4% over the $646 billion spent in 2018. 14.2 billion connected things will be in use in 2019 and this figure will reach 25 billion by 2021. According to Nasscom, the IoT market in India is poised to reach $ 15 bn by 2020, accounting for nearly 5% of the total global market.
Blockchain is fast emerging as the priority technology for future exploration among airport and airline CIOs globally. One of the potential benefits of blockchain technology is the ability to have multienterprise applications. These work across multiple organizations locking data immutably into the blockchain rather than having individual applications running separately and exchanging data on a caseby- case basis. This is how this technology can provide a ‘single source of truth’ to all stakeholders.Today, 59% of airlines have pilot or research programs planned around blockchain for implementation by 2021, which is up from 42% last year. Similarly, airports also continue to experiment with blockchain with 34% planning R&D projects by 2021. The most commonly expected use of blockchain for both airlines and airports is to streamline the passenger identification process with 40% of airlines and 36% of airports
This year’s study also investigates passengers’ consumption of free and paid-for services, before and during the journey. Wi-Fi is the most popular complimentary service