2008 Beijing Olympics
Beijing Airport beats Olympic record for number of passengers processed
During the Olympic Games in August 2008, SITA's common-use check-in platform handled a new daily record of 260,000 passengers at Beijing Capital International Airport (BCIA).
SITA played a critical role throughout the Games in helping ensure the smooth movement of people through the airport. The capacity of the airport had been doubled with the opening of a brand new third terminal building, which was fully equipped with SITA's Common Use Terminal Equipment (CUTE) and Common Use Self Service (CUSS) technology.
To cope with the anticipated rise in flights from 1,150 to 1,900 per day after the Closing Ceremony, a total of 700 workstations were made available. The latest version of AirportConnect CUTE was installed at 330 check-in counters, 50 CUSS self-service kiosks were in use, with many more workstations behind the scenes. These provided everyone with access to a consistent, fully-integrated system that supported check-in, self-service check-in, boarding and transfers.
Prior to the Games Gao Lijia, Deputy General Manager, BCIA, said: "There is no doubt that the smart deployment of the latest check-in and self-service solutions will help to make travel to and from the Olympic Games as stress-free as possible. SITA is playing a significant role in helping us manage the large numbers over a concentrated period of time."
SITA also completed a major technology upgrade for the country's main GDS provider, Travelsky Technology Ltd. This involved the installation of a managed, IP-based Virtual Private Network (IP VPN) to ensure that foreign carriers had reliable and secure access to their airline reservation systems. Several other improvements were also made, including operational messaging and an airline community network which is a host-to-host network used by STAR Alliance airlines and others.
In addition SITA provided a disaster-recovery data centre in Beijing to ensure reliable back-up support to airlines during the Games. Wang Ying Chun, Chief Financial Officer, Travelsky, said:
"We are not taking any chances. SITA will provide separate WAN connections for this data centre to make sure all network connections with other GDSs and airline carriers can be switched over to the disaster recovery centre in the unlikely event of any failure."
From provider to partner
SITA's relationship with BCIA has now grown into a fully-fledged partnership. In May 2010, SITA signed a new agreement to handle passenger processing for the 55 international airlines flying into the airport. Twenty of SITA's own employees are based permanently on site, working closely with BCIA staff and providing round-the-clock support and maintenance.
SITA was named Airport Support Service Provider of the Year at the 2009 Asia Pacific Frost and Sullivan Aerospace and Defence Awards. Nor Azman Aziz, Aerospace and Defence Consultant, Asia Pacific Frost and Sullivan, said, "SITA's offering of technology to increase efficiency, expansion of capabilities in airports globally, and value-added services makes it an unbeatable choice for expanding airports in the region."
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