In a move to make T.F. Green Airport (PVD) in Providence, Rhode Island more attractive to international carriers, the Rhode Island Airport Corporation is investing in the latest technology for passenger management. Now international airlines that wish to fly to the airport can use a check-in and boarding platform provided by the global airport technology provider SITA.
This flexible, cloud-based technology, SITA Airport Connect Open, makes it easy for international carriers to operate at T.F. Green Airport by allowing them to use their common-use passenger management applications here in the same way as they do at other airports around the world.
Kelly Fredericks, President and CEO, Rhode Island Airport Corporation, said: “As an international airport we need to provide the best facilities to overseas airlines to encourage them to set up routes to Rhode Island. SITA’s airport technology is used by hundreds of airports across the world and installing this system makes it quick and easy for airlines to work here in the same way they operate at other airports. SITA has also provided us with a solution that is hugely flexible and scalable. Because it is a cloud-based service we do not have to invest in infrastructure on site here at the airport and new airlines can be up and running quickly and adding seasonal routes will be easy.”
SITA’s world-class technology will be in place at T.F. Green Airport by June of this year when international carriers will begin flying to Rhode Island including TACV/Cabo Verde Airlines’ new flights to Cabo Verde and Condor Airlines with seasonal non-stop service to Frankfurt, Germany and connecting European destinations.
The benefits of common-use at airports are well proven; it allows any airline to check-in and board passengers from any location and enables them to deliver a consistent level of customer service. The added benefit for Green Airport is that SITA’s innovative cloud offering is scalable both in terms of the level of usage and pricing so costs are in line with the varying levels of airport business and revenues.
Paul Houghton, SITA President, Americas, said: “T.F. Green Airport is a perfect example of how cloud technology benefits airports. Common-use systems, which allow many airports to use the same check-in desks, boarding gates, etc, are used all around the world but for smaller airports the upfront investment can sometimes make it difficult to implement.
“SITA provides AirportConnect Open to more than 400 airports and more than 250 airlines are operational on the platform. Now SITA’s cloud services are becoming increasingly popular; they are already in use at around 20 airports around the world. Our airport experience and rate of deployment are unmatched and we were happy work with Green Airport and share our expertise as they moved to common-use in the cloud.”
T.F. Green Airport joins a growing number of airports around the world taking advantage of SITA’s cloud-hosted solution, which provides the same technology that larger airports use, but with the flexibility and cost structure mid-sized and smaller airports require.
