making air travel easier membership ......klm’s president met the head of air france. they agreed...

H2 2019

MAKING AIR TRAVEL EASIER...FOR 70 YEARS

PAGE 2AWARDS TO SITA FOUNDERS

PAGE 6MEMBERSHIP ANNIVERSARY AWARDS

PAGE 8SITA INNOVATION FORUM

PAGE 9WE MUST COLLABORATE TO TACKLE

THE AVIATION CYBER-THREATPAGE 11

SWISSPORT – UNLOCKING DATA INSIGHTS TO MAKE AIR TRAVEL EASIER

PAGE 13AWARD WINNING WORK IN AFRICA

PAGE 16CSR STRATEGY UPDATE

PAGE 17NEWS IN BRIEF

PAGE 18

During those seven decades, SITA has worked closely with airlines, airports, industry bodies and other industry ‘players’ to address the challenges faced by the community. Today, SITA technologies are underpinning the industry’s operations, creating a more seamless passenger journey – and making air travel easier than ever.

The backcloth to SITA’s evolution has been the extraordinary pace of growth in air transport. In the late 1940s, passenger numbers were less than 10 million a year. Today, more than 4.5 billion people travel by air every year. The air transport sector now supports 65.5 million jobs and generates US$ 2.7 trillion in global economic activity.1

MEMBER CONNECT H2 20192

FEW INDUSTRIES HAVE GROWN AS FAST OR BECOME AS COMPLEX AND INTER-DEPENDENT AS THE GLOBAL AIR TRANSPORT INDUSTRY. AT SITA, AS WE COMMEMORATE 70 YEARS AT THE HEART OF AIR TRANSPORT, WE ARE REMINDED OF THE COMPANY’S CONTRIBUTIONS TO TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES THAT ARE KEEPING MORE AND MORE PASSENGERS MOVING AROUND THE WORLD.

MAKING AIR TRAVEL EASIER…FOR 70 YEARS

FOUNDED AND OWNED BY AIR TRANSPORTSITA’s story begins with innovation: a decision by 11 airlines2 in 1949 to share communications resources. Establishing SITA as a unique independent organization, the airlines became both ‘shareholder members’ and users.

SITA AT 70

The principle of shared technology remains as relevant today as it was to those founding airlines. Put simply, it makes sense to collaborate rather than compete in areas of common purpose. Where there is little or no competitive advantage to be gained by acting alone, there can be considerable advantage in acting together.

SITA History Wall at the SITA Innovation Forum 2019

3www.sita.aero/membership

“ THANK YOU TO OUR MEMBERS, WHO HAVE BEEN THE CRUCIAL ELEMENT IN OUR SUCCESSFUL 70 YEARS AT THE HEART OF THE AIR TRANSPORT COMMUNITY. WE WERE CREATED BY THE INDUSTRY, FOR THE INDUSTRY, AND WE WILL CONTINUE TO LEARN, BUILD AND INNOVATE COLLABORATIVELY WITH OUR MEMBERS AND CUSTOMERS IN THE COMING DECADES.”

BARBARA DALIBARD CEO, SITA

interests through more than 430 members in all corners of the globe.

EARLY TECHNOLOGICAL LEAPS The pace of change through the decades has been relentless, often led by technology, with SITA frequently at the forefront. For example, the company created a nodal distributed network during the 1960s, three years before the US Department of Defense’s ARPA Network, which eventually led to the internet. And in 1971, SITA became the first to use a common carrier packet switched network to handle data traffic in real time, a technological leap for the evolving aviation industry.

Founded and owned by the industry, SITA’s mandate was to deliver common benefits to the air transport community. To this day, SITA makes technologies and innovations available for the benefit of the entire global community, on a shared or common-use basis, reducing the total cost of ownership.

SITA’s technology now touches the lives of almost every passenger who travels by air. The company does business with nearly every airline and airport in the world. It is steered by more than 40 aviation IT industry leaders and experts, on the SITA Board and Council, and it represents air transport community

During its first decades, long before the deregulation of telecoms, SITA’s global network became so vital to airline operations that, uniquely, it was permitted to operate in virtually every country recognized by the United Nations. That globality remains. Providing services across 200 countries and territories, some 140 nationalities are represented among SITA’s staff.

The company’s focus broadened from airline communications to encompass IT and applications, as well as a growing customer base of airports, ground handlers, air navigation service providers, governments, industry bodies and other players.

As the new millennium approached, once again technology drove significant change. SITA led the industry’s adoption of IP as the communications infrastructure backbone of the industry and notched up many innovative firsts – early steps towards greater operational efficiency and a more seamless journey.

This included the introduction of common use check-in and kiosks as the latest generation of shared use solutions (1984); industry-leading air-ground communications (1992); the first ever website able to complete travel bookings as well as take payments in real time (1995); and the world’s first electronic visa system (for the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games), leading to SITA’s position today as the world’s foremost border management provider.

As we fast approach the next decade, SITA remains committed to developing and delivering the digital technologies that will make its vision of ‘Easy air travel, every step of the way’ a reality. As in the past 70 years, the approach will always involve close collaboration with the air transport community, to help move passengers smoothly and swiftly, wherever they may travel.


SITA AT 70

1 www.atag.org, October 2018 2 The 11 airlines who founded SITA in 1949 were: KLM, Air France, who are now both part of the same group; British European Airways Corporation (BEAC),

British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC), British South American Airways (BSAA) - which later merged to form British Airways; Swedish A.G. Aerotransport, Danish Det Danske Luftfartselskab A/S, Norwegian Det Norske Luftfartselskap - which later merged to form SAS; Sabena which became Brussels Airlines; Swissair which became Swiss; and TWA, which was acquired by American Airlines.

A HISTORY OF COLLABORATIONThrough all of this time, true to its original purpose, SITA has collaborated closely not only with customers, but also with industry bodies such as IATA, ACI, CANSO and ICAO to help drive the standards and services necessary for the safe and efficient operation of the aviation eco-system.

In the process, SITA has contributed to industry-wide programs to deliver billions of dollars of cost reductions across air transport operations. Key to this has been a strategic partnership with IATA – helping to realize major programs such as Simplifying the Business (StB) and Fast Travel, as well as the IATA/ACI Smart Security initiative and OneID.

The StB program, which helped spark the self-service revolution, changed air traveler behavior and expectations. SITA’s self-service capabilities played a large part, spanning all steps of the passenger journey – from booking and check-in to bag drop, boarding and border control. As the industry transforms digitally, the self-service revolution continues.

A NEW DIGITAL ERA Innovation and collaboration continue apace. In its seventieth year, SITA today co-innovates with customers and industry bodies across a range of new and emerging technologies.

Focused on enhancing industry operations and the seamless passenger journey, they embrace identity management and biometrics, artificial intelligence (AI), data analytics, blockchain, the Internet of Things (IoT), digital twins, mixed reality, robotics and more.

Examples include pioneering developments in predictive data analytics and AI to help airports resolve capacity constraints and flight delays. At the same time, in a major step towards the seamless journey, SITA’s industry-leading developments in biometric identity management for self-service check-in and automated boarding are being adopted by a growing number of the world’s airlines, airports and border agencies.

Driven by vast amounts of data and up-to-the-second intelligence and analysis, such technologies are transforming air transport. SITA is a vital link in that process – bridging as much as 60% of air transport data exchange among airlines, airports, aircraft and border agencies.

EASY AIR TRAVEL, EVERY STEP OF THE WAYSITA is deeply involved in the industry’s digital transformation – which is seeing airlines and airports embarking on data-based digital infrastructure programs that will underpin operations and the seamless journey of tomorrow.


A STORY OF COLLABORATION BEGINS…The story began in late 1947 with ICAO considering the co-ordination of telecommunications. KLM’s President met the head of Air France. They agreed the idea of an independent company with airlines as shareholders and users.

Others were approached to join the collaborative project. In February 1949, SITA was born, when 11 airlines approved its creation.

THE PURSUIT OF SEAMLESS PASSENGER TRAVEL!A press article at the time reported that “the primary object is to eliminate excessive delays in dealing with administrative messages. There will also be a resultant benefit to the public through speedier handling of reservations”. So even in its first days, SITA was pursuing the idea of seamless passenger travel!

A TIME OF GREAT CHANGEIt was also a time of industrial and social change, and aviation was very much a part of it. Just five months after SITA’s launch, those airline chiefs will have witnessed the world’s first jet airliner take to the skies, the British Comet. It marked the introduction of a new era of speed and comfort in the aviation industry.

THE SITA ANNUAL GENERAL ASSEMBLY AND THE SITA INNOVATION FORUM ON 19-20 JUNE 2019 PROVIDED THE IDEAL OPPORTUNITY TO RECOGNIZE THE AIRLINES WHO FOUNDED SITA 70 YEARS AGO, AS WELL AS TO CELEBRATE OTHER SIGNIFICANT SITA MEMBER ANNIVERSARIES.

AWARDS TO SITA FOUNDERS

MEMBERSHIP

Accepting Founder and 70th Anniversary Awards at the ‘SITA 70th Anniversary and Awards Dinner’, L-R: Nicolas Nelson (Air France), Erik Swelheim (KLM), Paul Elich (KLM), Jean-Christophe Lalanne (Air France), Edwin Borst (Air France KLM), Frédéric Gagey (Air France KLM). Presented by Ashish Jain, SITA Council President.

Present SITA executives joined former SITA executives who were invited to the ‘SITA 70th Anniversary and Awards Dinner’ as Special Guests. L-R: Paul Coby, with SITA from 2000-2016, served as Chair of the Board; Christoph Klingenberg, with SITA from 2010-2014, served as President of the Council; Riccardo Lippi, with SITA from 1989-2012, served as Board Vice-Chair; Francesco Violante, SITA CEO, 2003-2016; Dr Omar Jefri, present Chair of the Board; Barbara Dalibard, present SITA CEO; Ashish Jain, present Council President; Phillip Hawker, with SITA from 2013-2016, served as Council Deputy-President; Jappe Blaauw, with SITA from 2009-2018, served as Council President; Matthew Billings, with SITA from 2009-2017, served as Board Vice-Chair; Adrian Coppini, with SITA from 2011-2013, served as Council Deputy-President.

• Brussels Airlines. The original founding company, Sabena, became Brussels Airlines in 2005. The award was collected by Michael Mueller.


• SAS, formed from the coming together in 1951 of three Scandinavian airlines who were among the original 11 founders: the Swedish airline A.G.Aerotransport, the Danish airline Det Danske Luftfartselskab and the Norwegian Det Norske Luftfartselskap. The award was collected by Bjorn Fagerstedt and Jeff Markstedt.

70TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS Some of SITA’s founders were recognized on the evening of 19th June at the‘SITA 70th Anniversary and Awards Dinner.’

Two of those founding airlines continue in business to this day. Others have merged or changed over the years. Presented by SITA Council President Ashish Jain, the awards went to:

• Air France and KLM, the two original airlines whose discussions led to the creation of SITA.

Representatives from both Air France and KLM collected the founders awards, including: Jean-Christophe Lalanne, Nicolas Nelson, Paul Elich, Erik Swelheim, Frédéric Gagey and Edwin Borst.

• British Airways, formed from three of the original SITA founders: British Overseas Airways Corporation, British European Airways and British South American Airways. The award was collected by Ben Sehovic.

Bjorn Fagerstedt (left) and Jeff Markstedt of SAS accept an Honorary SITA Founder Award.

Ben Sehovic of British Airways accepts an Honorary SITA Founder Award. Michael Mueller of Brussels Airlines accepts an Honorary SITA Founder Award.

SITA’S STORY AS AN INDEPENDENTCOMPANY WITH AIRLINES AS SHAREHOLDERS AND USERS BEGAN WITH ITS FOUNDERS KLM AND AIR FRANCE. OTHERS WERE SOONTO JOIN THE COLLABORATIVE PROJECT.

50, 60 AND 70 YEARS Three airlines have reached 50 years as SITA Members, and another three 60 years. Celebrating 70 years are the two airlines who have been present from the outset: Air France and KLM. See table.


THE ‘SITA 70TH ANNIVERSARY AND AWARDS DINNER’ ALSO SAW THE PRESENTATION OF AWARDS TO MEMBERS REACHING 70TH, 60TH AND 50TH ANNIVERSARIES WITH SITA.

MEMBERSHIP

Tunisair, 60 years, award received by Gader Hichem (left) and Della Riadh.

Transavia Airlines, 50 years, award received by Erik Swelheim of KLM on behalf of Transavia.

Korean Air, 50 years, award received by Sookhyun Cho.

See our online issue for other significant member anniversary milestones

Aeroflot, 60 years, award received by Ilia Perevalov.

Turkish Airlines, 60 years, award received by Ali Serdar Yakut. Myanmar National Airlines, 50 years, award received by Ei Lin Khang.

SITA MEMBER MILESTONE (2019)AIR FRANCE 70 YEARS

KLM

TUNISAIR 60 YEARS

AEROFLOT

TURKISH AIRLINES

KOREAN AIR 50 YEARS

MYANMAR NATIONAL AIRLINES

TRANSAVIA AIRLINES

MEMBERSHIP ANNIVERSARY AWARDS

This year SITA Membership Anniversary Awards were presented to eight airlines who joined SITA prior to 1969. They have all played a significant role in the development and evolution of air transport both in their own regions and globally.

LET’S MOVE THE WORLD TOGETHERLooking at innovation in practice and digital transformation across the industry were guest speakers Jonas Kjellberg, Co-Creator of Skype, and Alexandre de Juniac, Director General and CEO, IATA.

With collaborative innovation high on the agenda, the Forum’s workshops explored a range of ideas with delegates for use cases for emerging technologies.

COLLABORATE TO INNOVATEInsights into innovation came from our panel of leading industry experts who addressed the topic ‘Collaborate to innovate.’

The panel comprised Dawen Choy, Group SVP, Transformation & Enterprise Development, Changi Airport Group – talking about Changi Living Lab; Glenn Morgan, Head of Digital at IAG, covering Hangar 51; Hubert Riondel, CEO of Air France-KLM’s BigBlank; Sarwant Singh, Senior Partner & Board Member, Frost & Sullivan; and Will Whitehorn, Former President of Virgin Galactic.


SITA INNOVATION FORUM 2019 THE SITA INNOVATION FORUM TOOK PLACE ON 19-20 JUNE 2019 IN ANTWERP, BELGIUM. AS AN INVITATION-ONLY EVENT IT BROUGHT TOGETHER AROUND 150 SENIOR AIRPORT AND AIRLINE EXECUTIVES FOCUSED ON INNOVATION, THE PASSENGER EXPERIENCE AND DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION.

SITA INNOVATION FORUM

PASSENGER ENGAGEMENTIn a workshop themed ‘Passenger engagement in our industry’s digital transformation’, delegates reviewed passenger trends and how they could impact the ‘end to end passenger journey’ – from trip planning, passing through the airport, being onboard and arriving at the final destination.

They heard from Abhi Chacko, Head of IT Commercial & Innovation at Gatwick Airport, on how the passenger journey is changing and what it might look like in the future, before exploring ideas for new solutions to tackle passenger pain points.

Its theme of ‘Let’s move the world, together’ was an encouragement to work collaboratively to make air travel simpler at every step of the journey.

Examples of how emerging technologies are being leveraged in other industries included a look at artificial intelligence, blockchain and |the Internet of Things.

TAKEAWAYS AND NEXT STEPSClosing the event, three SITA customers representing each of the workshops outlined their takeaways, including potential use cases and technologies evaluated.

They were Jaideep Verma, AVP & Head of IT for Mumbai International Airport, Suhail Kadri, VP Technology & Innovation for Hamad International Airport; and again, IAG’s Head of Digital, Glenn Morgan.

Next steps are to evaluate the most promising use cases with members and customers for possible future proofs-of-concept and other co-innovations. All delegates will receive a ‘SITA Innovation Forum’ paper summarizing the event and selected highlights.


SITA INNOVATION FORUM

OPERATIONAL INTELLIGENCE Looking at ‘Operational Intelligence to increase efficiency at the airport,’ this workshop reflected on some of the most important Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) of operational efficiency – both tapped and untapped. The KPIs served as a guideline for the evolution of Total Airport Management Solutions and technological advances.

COLLABORATING AT THE AIRPORTIn a ‘Collaborating to enable the airport of the future’ workshop, delegates identified critical areas for increased collaboration through data sharing and/or new common use solutions. They heard about the experiences of Alaska Airlines, from Johan Brink, the airline’s Common Use Program Manager.

Closing the event three SITA customers, representing each of the workshops, outlined their takeaways, including potential use cases and technologies evaluated: Jaideep Verma, AVP & Head of IT for Mumbai International Airport, Suhail Kadri, VP Technology & Innovation for Hamad International Airport; and IAG’s Head of Digital, Glenn Morgan. With SITA’s President of Air Travel Solutions Matthys Serfontein, and SITAONAIR CEO David Lavorel.

Operational Intelligence Workshop set up.

‘Collaborating to enable the airport of the future’ workshop - delegates heard about how other industries are using emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence.


CYBERSECURITY

Collaboration is vital in tackling the cyber-threat facing the global air transport community, which poses many challenges for Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs). Along with emerging trends, priorities and opinions among aviation business leaders, SITA’s ‘Air Transport Cybersecurity Insights 2018’ survey (see our last issue) highlighted many of the challenges faced.

The survey found that the rising risk is well acknowledged, but cybersecurity teams are still lacking empowerment and positioning at c-level. Just 31%

of the responding organizations said they had a dedicated CISO. Lack of resources affected 78% of organizations too.

THE CYBER-THREAT IS REALBut the threat is clear and it’s certainly focusing industry attention. SITA’s Insights survey showed that cybersecurity is high on the agendas of airline and airport CIOs. Some 89% of airlines revealed a ‘major program’, up from 71% the year before; while 95% of airports confirmed cybersecurity as a priority area.

TO HELP TACKLE THE CYBER-THREAT FACING AIR TRANSPORT, SITA IS FACILITATING COLLABORATION ACROSS THE COMMUNITY, AIMING TO EDUCATE, INFORM AND PROTECT AIRLINE AND AIRPORT CUSTOMERS.

WE MUST COLLABORATE TO TACKLE THE AVIATION CYBER-THREAT

Nevertheless, the reality of the cyber-threat to aviation is brought home by numerous high-profile incidents at airlines or airports in recent times. SITA currently sees three to five cases per month for both airports and airlines.

AIR TRANSPORT SEEN AS CRITICALConcerned about cyber-threats, many governments across the world are putting into place new rules and regulations to address cyber-risks to their ‘Critical National Infrastructure’. The air transport industry is seen as very much a part of this critical infrastructure.

Across Asia Pacific, Europe and the US, there are various approaches to key regulations and initiatives related to Critical National Infrastructure and cybersecurity. Along with that are the increasing initiatives of industry organizations, including ACI World and IATA, as well as the membership-based organization Aviation Information Sharing and Analysis Center (A-ISAC).

SITA’S RESPONSE In addition to the SITA Insights survey, SITA’s response includes the annual SITA Aviation Cybersecurity Symposium. The third symposium, in November 2018, brought together IT and cybersecurity experts from across air transport to chart the way forward for the community.

As an important community response for aviation, the next symposium will take place on 2-3 October 2019 (see ‘News in brief’). Another major response is SITA’s ‘Community Cyber Threat Center’. Launched in 2017, the center is a complimentary service open to cybersecurity professionals at SITA member organizations (see box).


CYBERSECURITY

SITA’S INSIGHTS SURVEY SHOWED THAT CYBERSECURITY IS HIGH ON THE AGENDAS OF AIRLINE AND AIRPORT CIOS. SOME 89% OF AIRLINES REVEALED A ‘MAJOR PROGRAM’, UP FROM 71% THE YEAR BEFORE; WHILE 95% OF AIRPORTS CONFIRMED CYBERSECURITY AS A PRIORITY AREA.

A STAKEHOLDER-WIDE RESPONSESo it’s widely recognized that cyber-threats in air transport are a new reality. Not only that, it must be acknowledged that the challenges faced by air transport organizations are multi-faceted – including organizational, technical, supply chain and compliance.

For any CISO, this community-wide and multi-faceted nature of the threat demands a response that embraces all stakeholders, including suppliers, partners, authorities and more. It must also address all parts of the incident lifecycle, from prevention and protection, to detection and response.

FOR MORESee ‘SITA Air Transport Cybersecurity Insights 2018’. Go to www.sita.aero/surveys

SITA’S COMMUNITY CYBER-THREAT CENTERAs a collaborative initiative providing a security information sharing service, the SITA Community Cyber-Threat Center (CCTC) is run specifically for cybersecurity professionals throughout SITA member organizations. During 2018, it reached 29 active members.

The center supports a community-wide response by promoting the proactive and timely exchange of contextualized, actionable cyber-threat information between members. Participating organizations can also choose to receive automated threat intelligence feeds, which relate to malicious activity observed within air transport and other industries.

This machine-driven sharing of intelligence indicators provides valuable information to help airlines and airports identify potential threats to their systems, enabling a timely response when needed.


INTERVIEW – SWISSPORT

What are the potential benefits of better collaboration among the players involved in your business? What is the scale of operations?

We are all getting more and more used to smoother and digitally supported services. Think of Uber, of shopping at Amazon, and of automated SMS reminders from the dentist. Flight passengers also expect a smooth and digitally supported journey, but we are not there yet.

Creating a shared eco-system of real-time data will enable the players in the aviation industry to improve and, in many cases, even expand the services we are providing.

Can you give an example?

Of course. Today passengers are waiting at the belts, without knowing whether their luggage will arrive. If it does not arrive, they only realize that when the belt is empty, and then they have to report it missing.

Better collaboration among the players in our business will enable us to use real-time data to keep passengers informed about their luggage.

That is, however, only one example. Better real-time data would also allow for the prioritizing of seating of passengers according to who has the least time to catch a connecting flight. Or it could enable us to plan the service of planes according to value queuing, instead of first come first served, and so on.

What is the critical data that enables, or will enable, better collaboration?

Examples would be real-time flight information, information about tight connection transfer passengers and luggage, queuing time at the security check, and the value of flights and passengers. To exchange this data, however, an Industry Data Model is required, and this is what we are already working on with SITA and other industry partners.

SWISSPORT IS THE WORLD’S LARGEST PROVIDER OF GROUND AND CARGO HANDLING SERVICES IN THE AVIATION INDUSTRY AND A LONG-TIME BUSINESS PARTNER OF SITA. SWISSPORT AND SITA HAVE NOW JOINED FORCES TO UNLOCK THE VALUE OF THE VAST RANGE OF AIR TRANSPORT DATA AVAILABLE TO DELIVER ENRICHED, PREDICTIVE ANALYTICS FOR THE ENTIRE INDUSTRY. HERE WE TALK TO SWISSPORT’S CIO, CHRISTOPH KLEINSORG.

UNLOCKING DATA INSIGHTS TO MAKE AIR TRAVEL EASIER

ABOUT SWISSPORTSITA member Swissport is the world’s largest provider of ground and cargo handling services in the aviation industry. The company provides ground services on behalf of some 700 client-companies and handles around 224 million passengers and 3.9 million flights per year. The company operates 120 warehouses and moves approximately four million tonnes of cargo. With a workforce of around 55,000 personnel, Swissport is active at more than 255 stations in 44 countries across five continents.

“ CREATING A SHARED ECO-SYSTEM OF REAL-TIME DATA WILL ENABLE THE PLAYERS IN THE AVIATION INDUSTRY TO IMPROVE AND, IN MANY CASES, EVEN EXPAND THE SERVICES WE ARE PROVIDING.”

CHRISTOPH KLEINSORG CIO, SWISSPORT INTERNATIONAL (AND SITA BOARD DIRECTOR)


INTERVIEW – SWISSPORT

What benefits can your customers expect?

Going forward, our customers can expect additional data-driven services, more agile responses, and support to changes – and maybe even cost savings due to fewer issues with passengers and lost luggage.

What benefits will passengers see? How will your approach improve the passenger journey?

Passengers will experience a smooth and digitally supported journey. Whenever changes, delays, or unforeseen events occur, real-time information will be at hand. Passengers can expect better, faster, and more accurate support – and this from the very moment the passenger leaves home to start his or her journey.

Can you elaborate a little on the Industry Data Model?

To truly benefit from combining data from different providers and sources, a common business terminology must be in place. Having a shared Industry Data Model will help to reduce the time and effort needed for analysis and design of functional requirements, by providing industry-specific information infrastructures.

Swissport and SITA are already cooperating on the development of an Industry Data Model, and the result of the work done is a prerequisite for unlocking the full potential of our data.

What are the key technologies and capabilities that will enable increased collaboration?

The Industry Data Model is a must. When it comes to technologies, it will, in the beginning, be open APIs, stream technologies such as Kafka and Sparx, and finally micro services-based architectures. In the long run, blockchain could develop to be a key technology in the data sharing ecosystem.

You are looking to leverage data to make proactive decisions for day-to-day operations. How do you see predictive analytics working?

The combination of data sources such as airlines, airports, security, ground handlers, traffic and weather conditions, etc, can improve the quality of predictive decisions. The luggage example mentioned earlier is one example.

With shared, real-time data, it would be possible to create end-to-end transparency of the location of any piece of luggage at any given time. Flight prediction is another example. More precise flight predictions could enable better allocation of ground handling staff and equipment.

It might even be possible to achieve fuel savings, to the benefit of the environment, as better flight predictions could reduce the time on-hold planes are circulating above airports to wait for a slot to land.

What data would you expect to share with other players? And to what end?

Data from Swissport could include actual times of departures, handover information of luggage, information on priority luggage for transfer flights, and load information.

SWISSPORT AND SITA ARE ALREADY COOPERATING ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN INDUSTRY DATA MODEL, AND THE RESULT OF THE WORK DONE IS A PREREQUISITE FOR UNLOCKING THE FULL POTENTIAL OF OUR DATA.

What other emerging technologies do you expect to be looking at for the years ahead, and why?

Well, a lot is emerging: Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, Hypersurfaces Technologies, Intelligent Clothes, Augmented Reality and Cyber Glasses.

They could be major tools and technologies used in the future. However, we need to learn where and how these technologies can be used best. What are the advantages, but also where are drawbacks and risks to be considered, such as relearning, forgetting, control, and so forth?

What has been your experience of SITA’s Aviation Blockchain Sandbox, and what do you hope to accomplish?

It is great to experience different players in the industry meeting with the shared purpose of improving the services we are providing to our respective customers.

The ongoing work in a joint approach together with the Swiss aviation ecosystem of Zurich Airport, Skyguide, Lufthansa/Swiss, SITA and Swissport will bring us more and valuable insights into how we can share data and generate new value for our passengers and improve security and services quality.


“ BEING A FIRST-MOVER WITH SITA GIVES US AND OUR CUSTOMERS THE OPPORTUNITY TO BENEFIT FROM DATA EARLIER. AFTER WE HAVE BUILT A STRONG IT INFRASTRUCTURE WE CAN NOW FURTHER DIGITIZE OUR BUSINESS PROCESSES, ADDING VALUE TO THE SERVICES WE OFFER TO OUR MORE THAN 850 CUSTOMERS EVERY DAY.”

CHRISTOPH KLEINSORG CIO, SWISSPORT INTERNATIONAL (AND SITA BOARD DIRECTOR)

ABOUT THE INDUSTRY DATA MODEL AGREEMENTDiscussions between Swissport and SITA are aimed at providing Swissport with the right data to make intelligent, proactive decisions on day-to-day operations.

They are also to develop a broad framework of how this information can be shared across the industry. Key to the success of the Industry Data Model is to ensure all stakeholders – including airlines, airports and ground handlers – have access to the same information.

By collecting and combining different sets of data, services can be designed based on the individual customer needs and processes will become even more efficient.

At the time of the June 2019 announcement, Swissport International CIO Christoph Kleinsorg said: “Being a first-mover with SITA gives us and our customers the opportunity to benefit from data earlier. After we have built a strong IT infrastructure we can now further digitize our business processes, adding value to the services we offer to our more than 850 customers every day.”

SITA offers quick and simple access to this air transport data through its networking and API capabilities.

By collating and analyzing a range of data streams using flight information, baggage and wait-time, the SITA-Swissport partnership aims to develop a standard format to securely share common data with the relevant stakeholders, while enriching these data streams to provide predictive analytics.

The data will help enhance cross-company services such as staff planning based on real-time data, measures to prevent delays, or door-to-door baggage services.

Using SITA’s Aviation Blockchain Sandbox, Swissport and SITA are also working with a range of airlines and airports to explore how blockchain can be used to securely share this common data.

Both Swissport and SITA are well placed to drive a data framework for further discussion in the industry. Today, SITA shares and bridges 60% of the air transport industry’s operational data, handling 3.9 billion business and mission-critical messages each year.

At the same, Swissport is responsible for managing the passenger and cargo operations of hundreds of airlines across 300 airports in 50 countries.


GOOD FOR SOCIETY The Foundation has adopted the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals as part of the guiding principles. Two in particular are quality education – meeting the overall aim of the work in Africa, and gender equality. Overall, the program has 51.4% gender focus on females, ensuring that opportunities for young women and their communities are more accessible.

The SITA ATC Foundation is to help close the skills gap in Africa. To date, the SITA ATC Foundation has positively impacted over 80,000 young people in Ethiopia, Uganda, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe, through ICT projects delivered with the Foundation’s charity partners.

The Foundation began operations in 2015 with projects in three countries: Ethiopia, Uganda and South Africa. Since then it’s grown to include programs in Zambia and Zimbabwe.

In 2018, this included the building of secure ICT labs and provision of ICT equipment for secondary schools, the training of teachers in the International Computer Driving Licence qualification, and the funding of students at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits).

Sponsorship of seats at the Tshimologong Innovation Precinct helped entrepreneurs to develop business ideas, and attendees here and at Wits University took part in the SITA Foundation innovation award. The US$10,000 prize was granted to the team who presented the most innovative case for how to address the needs of the first-time air traveler in Africa.

2019 projects include four more ICT labs being created and equipped in Uganda and Zambia, while students at 10 schools will benefit from

THIS YEAR THE SITA AIR TRANSPORT COMMUNITY (ATC) FOUNDATION WON SILVER IN THE BEST FOUNDATION CATEGORY OF THE CORPORATE ENGAGEMENT AWARDS. IT’S THANKS TO THE FOUNDATION’S WORK IN PROVIDING ACCESS TO ICT AND EDUCATION FOR YOUNG PEOPLE IN AFRICA.

AWARD-WINNING WORK IN AFRICA

Coding Clubs. Continuing the goal for sustainable long-term projects, more teacher training is taking place in Zimbabwe, Uganda and Ethiopia. New grants will help eight students at Wits with their studies, while six will receive continued funding.

PROGRAM EVOLUTIONPartners since the Foundation’s creation include ComputerAid International, PEAS (Promoting Equality in African Schools) and The Wits Foundation.

The Foundation has continued to learn and to evolve its programs. Examples include buying headsets for computers when discovering that children playing different music in one room could be quite disruptive.

In addition, the scope of ICT training was extended to non-ICT teachers to help them plan lessons in other subjects.

OUTCOMES Monitoring and evaluation plays a key role in all the programs, and it’s vital to ensure that projects are sustainable locally. The aim is to support a project for around three years and to encourage local management and support. This forms part of the initial due diligence in selection of the schools to work with.

Taking this approach, since 2015 the SITA ATC Foundation has been able to prove grants to 82 students, create and equip 74 labs, and train 356 teachers.

CORPORATE & SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY


Our work with higher education embraces our Accelerate Graduate program, and relationships with universities in Ireland, Russia, Jordan, China and Canada.

A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE Working with partners and communities remains fundamental to SITA’s continued focus on CSR. Collaboration will be a critical element in setting out a longer-term approach to addressing climate change.

It is also equally important SITA’s ongoing support for the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, particularly in the areas of climate change, quality education, gender equality and partnership.

See SITA’s CSR Report 2018 at www.sita.aero.

The report details the company’s commitment to the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) and the principles it represents, as well as the adoption of sustainable and socially responsible policies throughout SITA’s processes and operations.

It covers the company’s commitment to the business, environmental and social programs that make up our CSR strategy.

BUSINESS For the last five years, six of SITA’s largest locations have been audited for their Environmental Management System. Certification to the international ISO14001:2015 standard embeds good practices, as does SITA’s adherence to environmental improvement targets.

Almost 60% of SITA’s employees work in offices with online environmental statements that show the performance of their site. Good practices have resulted in a 30% reduction in energy intensity across our offices, as well as a 40% reduction in emissions intensity.

ENVIRONMENTAL SITA is committed to working to minimize its actual and potential impacts on the natural environment throughout business practices and the value chain. As an inescapable part of the global economy, air travel underpins the operations of many global businesses.

Air travel accounts for a small part of global emissions, but with rising passenger numbers, its contribution to climate change will rise.

THE PROGRESS OF SITA’S CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY (CSR) PROGRAM IS SHARED PUBLICLY THROUGH THE SITA CSR REPORT, THE LATEST OF WHICH IS NOW AVAILABLE AT WWW.SITA.AERO

CSR STRATEGY UPDATE

In terms of reducing and mitigating air travel’s environmental impact, it is important to focus on incremental improvements. One major initiative implemented last year tackles SITA’s emissions from air travel.

By adopting more technology in offices globally, SITA has reduced its travel significantly. However, with a commitment to lessen the company’s environmental impacts, SITA has introduced an internal ‘carbon levy’ that has been used to fund carbon credits through a partnership with Natural Capital Partners.

The collaboration with Natural Capital Partners has seen contributions to programs supporting biodiversity, reforestation, wildlife protection, clean energy and community development in Borneo and India. SITA’s plans are to extend the program to embrace the emissions from business operations.

SOCIAL Working closely with communities across the world is a fundamental principle underpinning CSR at SITA. The organization’s presence across 135 countries provides insights into the challenges faced by societies in almost every corner of the globe.

Right across the world, SITA employees can give back to the communities to which they belong, through SITA’s ‘Value in Volunteer Action’ (VIVA) program.

In 2018, SITA employees gave their time to projects that addressed food poverty, vulnerable groups, and the environment, and raised money for numerous good causes. SITA teams logged 1,256 volunteer hours, while $83,526 was donated to 21 good causes.

EDUCATION Another highlight is the positive impact of the SITA Air Transport Community Foundation, with its program to improve the quality of education for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). (See page16.)

It is complemented by additional programs that focus on education, including SITA’s Learnership program in South Africa and initiatives in India.

THE EVOLUTION OF DIGITAL TWINS SITA is continuing to co-innovate around digital twins, building a detailed digital replica of an airport environment, including landside, airside and airfield operations. This is being used in airport control center environments, enabling improved decision-making, prediction and control.

Research continues at La Guardia Gateway Partners to create a digital twin airport operations center, using an

immersive 3D interface with a conversational user interface to create a total airport management view of airport operations.

The digital twin was subsequently also deployed in London Heathrow Airport to visualize inbound aircraft and estimate the flow of passengers into immigration.

COMPUTER VISION AND MACHINE LEARNING FOR BAGGAGESITA is working with several airports to capture bag carousel video data to generate Computer Vision and bag recognition Machine Learning models. These will be used to learn about the capabilities and limits of using Computer Vision for bag-biometrics and bag matching.

THE NEXT SITA COUNCIL AWARDS

On the back of the success of the SITA Council Awards in 2018, a new set of awards was launched on 16 May. Once again SITA teams throughout the world have been invited to submit a number of customer projects.

The project will be evaluated for their contribution to innovation and customer service (‘Stepping up for the Customer’). Over 50 submissions were received last year, with a similar response anticipated this year.

EVOLUTION OF AIRPORTHUBTM

SHARED PLATFORMSo far during 2019, SITA has deployed 13 additional AirportHub™ sites, bringing the global footprint to around 510. This is SITA’s airport-wide shared digital platform for airlines, ground handlers and maintenance companies at the airport.

SITA is continuing to prepare the AirportHub™ Next Generation platform leveraging SDWAN technology to provide new features. Four AirportHub™ sites with SDWAN capabilities have been successfully deployed at US and European airports.


NEWS IN BRIEFNEWS

PROVIDING INSIGHTS INTO AIR TRANSPORT ITSo far in 2019 SITA has published research on Passenger IT Insights and SITA Baggage IT Insights both of which are available at www.sita.aero/surveys.

Passengers happier when technology smooths their wayThe 2019 Passenger IT Insights research explores how technology is contributing to a smoother passenger experience at every step of the journey. It addresses passenger technology adoption, satisfaction rates and service consumption across the stages of the journey.

Do tracking points improve bag delivery?The 2019 SITA Baggage IT Insights report explores how baggage handling is performing in the air transport industry to improve further passenger satisfaction. It addresses baggage mishandling rates and tracking achievements, with use cases and feedback from industry bodies.

SITA-ATW Baggage Webinar 2019Discussing the findings and whether more bag tracking helps is our recent webinar, at: https://www.sita.aero/events/events-listing/sita-atw-baggage-webinar-2019

Next surveyWe continue to provide SITA members with insights into the air transport community’s technology plans and trends, with the next survey – Air Transport IT Insights 2019 – due out in November at the SITA Europe IT Summit.


CYBERSECURITY CENTER AND UPCOMING SYMPOSIUMThe SITA Community Cyber Threat Center (CCTC) now has 29 active members. Run for cybersecurity professionals throughout SITA member organizations, the center continues to support a community-wide response by promoting the proactive and timely exchange of contextualized, actionable cyberthreat information between participants.

The fourth Aviation Cybersecurity Symposium will be hosted for SITA members and customers in Frankfurt on 2-3 October 2019. The two-day event presents a rare and timely opportunity for cybersecurity experts to share their experience and chart the way forward for an industry which is facing an unprecedented growth in the number of cyber threats. See also “We must collaborate to tackle the aviation cyber-threat’ on page 11.

AVIATION BLOCKCHAIN SANDBOX – GROWING INTERESTSITA’s Aviation Blockchain Sandbox continues to gain more users and industry interest. Recently, a group of major Chinese airlines and airports joined FlightChain and are contributing flight operations data to the network.

Separately, SITA is working with a Euro-based group comprising ground handler Swissport, an airline, an airport, and air traffic control. The initiative will evaluate how to utilize blockchain to improve collaboration and data sharing between various aviation stakeholders. See ‘Swissport – unlocking data insights to make air travel easier’ on page 13.

making air travel easier membership ......klm’s president met the head of air france. they agreed...

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