SITA's tech solutions to bring Istanbul new airport to life

İGA, the contractor and designated operator of the new airport, has brought SITA on board to design and deliver IT solutions that will manage everything from landing to take off as well as all passenger processing and baggage management systems from check-in through to boarding. SITA’s systems will be required to support 75 flight departures per hour, 3,500 flight operations per day and 1,000 bags per flight. Upon completion of all phases of the project, the capacity will reach over 200 million passengers annually, making it one of the world’s biggest airports.

Hani El-Assaad, SITA President, Middle East, India and Africa said: “Airports are without a doubt one of the most connected public spaces. SITA’s role is to provide and integrate all these systems to provide effortless airport management while elevating the passenger experience and satisfaction. We remove the complexity so that İGA can focus on what is really important: the passenger.”

In the first phase of the infrastructure development, SITA will deploy passenger processing systems to provide a smooth and efficient experience for passengers. This includes SITA’s departure control system allowing multiple airlines to connect and use the same check-in and boarding infrastructure. SITA will also implement automated passenger access control that will validate all types of boarding passes against travel documents at key touchpoints such as security and boarding. In total, SITA will provide 1,041 check-in and boarding workstations and 90 touchpoints where passengers can validate their boarding passes.

SITA’s baggage management technology will also ensure airlines flying to the airport are able to track their bags at every stage of the journey, meeting IATA’s Resolution 753 requirements from day one.

SITA will deploy key airport management solutions that will allow İGA to proactively manage and oversee every aspect of the airport operation. SITA’s Airport Management Solution  will make it possible for İGA to centralise flight data information collected from all the systems in the airport and to proactively take smart decisions in managing the resources in the airport. SITA will help İGA take collaboration a step further through the sharing of common airport operational objectives across stakeholders such as airlines, ground handlers and control authorities. 

Yusuf Akçayoğlu, CEO of İGA Airports Construction said: “We fully understand that having the right technology will be essential to the successful operation of the new airport and future-proofing it for decades to come. 

It is also critical to ensuring our passengers fully benefit from our new, world-class facilities by providing innovative systems that make the journey through the airport enjoyable and effortless. We are confident that we will conclude this co-operation successfully.” 

Ersin İnankul, CIO of İGA Airports Construction said: “In building a new facility, we have the opportunity to implement technology or the capacity to accommodate new technologies, thereby ensuring we are well prepared to accommodate changing requirements over time. Working with SITA, we have implemented passenger and operational systems that support those evolving demands, assuring the long-term future of Istanbul New Airport.”

The construction of the new airport will be carried out in four phases. The first phase will be finalised in 2018 with the opening of three runways and a main terminal building with a capacity of 90 million passengers a year. Close to 100 airlines have committed to begin using the airport once it opens for operations.