SITA, a provider of IT products and services for the air-transport industry, has announced a ten-year, $26.7 million deal with the Kenyan Airports Authority (KAA) for a complete upgrade of passenger processing at the country's two international airports. The upgrade will include installation of Kenya's first self-service check-in kiosks and will take place at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) in Nairobi and the Moi International Airport (MIA) in Mombasa.
The airport upgrade will include installation of SITA's new-generation S3 kiosks by June 2010. SITA says the kiosks have the smallest carbon footprint in the industry and can scan travel documents and issue up to 5,300 boarding passes from a single printer roll. The Nairobi airport will receive 32 kiosks, while the Mombasa facility will receive 16.
George Muhoho, managing director of the Kenya Airports Authority, says the kiosks will allow the airports to operate more efficiently and give them an updated image:
Working with SITA, we are introducing world-leading technology that will provide the best service for both the airlines and passengers using these airports … The move to self-service and the adoption of SITA's common-use technologies allows us to maximize the capacity at the airports and manage peak travel hours smoothly. The S3 Kiosks will bring a new look and feel to our airports and make them more passenger-friendly.
SITA says the S3 kiosks also are future-proofed and will fully support the use of barcoded boarding passes, which the company says will be adopted by the entire airline industry next year.
