SITA deals to boost airport connectivity, cybersecurity

SITA has added two significant deals to its expansive portfolio as a major technology provider to the aviation and transportation industries.

First up, SITA has a deal with Cathay Pacific whereby the company will support “substantial increases” in network bandwidth at its airports. The increase is expected to improve current capacity by up to five times while maintaining cost efficiency.

Cathay Pacific, which has its head office in Hong Kong International airport, was an early adopter of SITA’s original Connect solution and the new agreement aligns with the airline’s strategy of increasing adoption of Cloud applications. The new SITA deal will provide Cathay Pacific with enhanced network connectivity across 51 global airports via the SITA Connect Go at Airports product, which will provide bandwidth ranging up to 300 Mbps.

The contract included a design, build, test and implementation period of 12 months to cover all the airports included in the project, and is expected to be completed in early Q2 of this year and become fully operational across the 51 airports on the same date.

“This agreement with Cathay Pacific is a true testament of how we are able to help airlines maximize their network infrastructures which are key for their ongoing operations,” said Sumesh Patel, SITA Asia president Asia Pacific.

“Airlines and airport networks in APAC are facing challenges with legacy network infrastructure,” he continued. “SITA Connect Go offers a robust, scalable, and secure SD-WAN platform to meet the need for the growing bandwidth demand and helps airlines shift their focus towards their customers.”

SITA signs agreement with cybersecurity firm

SITA has a “significant agreement” to partner with cybersecurity company Palo Alto Networks to bring cybersecurity protection for “mission-critical” airport applications.

The solution will protect access to airport assets such as check-in workstations, self-service kiosks, tablets, smartphones and baggage scanners. The partnership is expected to focus on the delivery of advanced cybersecurity solutions like Palo Alto Networks Next Generation Firewalls (NGFW), Prisma SD-WAN Instant-On Network (ION) Devices and Palo Alto Networks Prisma Access, all managed by SITA under its SITA Managed Security Service Edge (SSE).

“The need to protect vital digital applications within the transportation industry has never been more acute, given the ever-evolving threat from cyber attacks,” said Martin Smillie, SITA Senior Vice President for Communications and Data Exchange (CDE). “This agreement delivers industry-leading cybersecurity protection for our airport, airline and other customers, in mission critical areas of their operation.”

“Managed by SITA CyberSOC, this combines Palo Alto Networks best-in-class AI-powered, cloud native Endpoint and Application protection, all optimized and future-proofed to combat cyber threats,” Smillie added.

Fully biometric self-boarding system for Pune

India’s Pune International Airport has implemented Digi Yatra at its new terminal, with Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol inaugurating the system, reports The Indian Express.

Digi Yatra was already operating at the airport’s old terminal but has now been rolled out at the new terminal. Mohol said the roll-out is part of the airport’s modernization. “DigiYatra provides a fully biometric self-boarding system, allowing passengers to complete all formalities from the entry gate to boarding without hassle,” he said.

The Digi Yatra service launched across India on December 1, 2022 with SITA a partner to the initiative via the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to enhance the digital infrastructure using its biometric systems. SITA’s Smart Path enables passengers to utilize face biometrics at different checkpoints, eliminating the need for physical documents such as boarding passes and IDs.

Article Topics

airports  |  APAC  |  biometrics  |  contactless biometrics  |  cybersecurity  |  Digi Yatra  |  India  |  Palo Alto Networks  |  SITA