2004 Athens Olympics
Check-in times fall as passenger numbers rise at Athens International Airport during 2004 Olympic Games
In 2004, the year of the Athens Olympic Games, the average queuing time for passengers at Athens International Airport (AIA) fell dramatically thanks to SITA's Common Use Terminal Equipment (CUTE) and Common Use Self Service (CUSS) kiosks.
In March 2004, just prior to the Games, AIA became the first airport in Europe to implement the SITA CUSS platform, enabling every airline to provide remote, self-service check-in facilities for their passengers via standardized kiosks. These, along with the CUTE facilities for airport and airline employees, ensured that everyone had easy access to a consistent, fully integrated check-in system.
Check-in queuing times fell from 9.5 minutes in 2003 to 7 minutes in 2004, despite the airport handling 13.7 million passengers during the year and almost 1.6 million during the Games in August.
Leonidas Daravelis, Director of Information Technology and Communications at AIA, said, "CUSS was essential to our strategy for handling the Olympics. We needed to ensure smooth, efficient processes for all those involved, particularly in the trickiest part of any Games - getting people away quickly after the Closing Ceremony."
On the day after the Closing Ceremony - the peak departure time at any major sporting event - a record 856 aircraft movements and 43,414 passenger departures were handled, with just 15% of flights delayed by more than 30 minutes. When compared with previous Games, this is exceptionally low.
Part of the success was down to the AIA authority having established mini-airport terminals within the Olympic Village, some major hotels, and also at the maritime transport hub in Piraeus. Passengers could use them to check-in and have their luggage processed up to two days ahead of departure. This meant airlines enjoyed greater flexibility and, in many cases, were able to load bags onto planes in advance. This ensured that the airport's baggage system was not over-burdened in the critical hours after the closing of the Games. It also meant fewer and shorter queues, and much happier passengers.
AIA adopts AirportConnect
Since the Olympics, and in pursuit of ever-greater improvements, AIA has followed the industry-wide trend towards Web- and mobile-based check-in, and adopted SITA's AirportConnect portfolio. Daravelis said, "We were proud to be the first airport in Europe to implement SITA's CUSS platform. They have worked with us continuously as our needs have evolved, and AirportConnect opens up a whole new raft of passenger processing possibilities."
As well as Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), smartcards and GSM technologies for check-in, AirportConnect Open provides real-time operational analysis capabilities for maximizing profitability and a range of reporting tools for both workstations and kiosks.
AIA has also installed fully integrated, IT-based communication systems throughout the cargo area, enabling more flexible procedures and operating hours. Plus, as a result of its positive experience, the airport has developed a consultancy partnership with SITA, working with teams at other airports to help them implement similar advanced IT systems.
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