SITA’s technology unites India’s airports under the cloud
Travel technology provider SITA has secured a landmark deal with Airports Authority of India to provide technology to 43 of India’s biggest airports.
“The deal will see improvements to over 2,700 passenger touchpoints, paving the way for the adoption of new-age solutions to meet the modern passenger’s expectations,” said Sumesh Patel, president of Asia Pacific, SITA.
Passengers will have more control over their journey, offering a low-touch, check-in, bag drop, and collection process through assisted and self-service mechanisms. The airports will benefit from a reduced infrastructure footprint and increased operational efficiency.
The technologies are scalable to an additional 40 airports over the next seven years. More than 500 million passengers are expected to be processed during this period.
Indian airports will be able to shift to common-use passenger experiences where multiple airlines can leverage the same infrastructure, such as check-in counters, self-service kiosks, and boarding gates.
“The new airports will bring closer together India’s almost 50 cities with populations exceeding one million people, creating substantial economic value in the long term. By connecting these cities better, air travel and transport will help unlock the full potential of India’s economic growth,” Patel said.
Dusit’s new seaplane lounge in the Maldives
Guests staying at the Dusit Thani Maldives will be able to surf the Web from the moment they arrive in the country thanks to the resort’s dedicated seaplane lounge at the Trans Maldivian Airways (TMA) terminal at Velana International Airport in Malé.
Together with refreshments, snacks, beverages, the lounge will offer complimentary high-speed Wi-Fi and electronic device charging stations.
The new seaplane lounge at Dusit Thani Maldives.
The resort will assign airport representatives to assist guests with luggage and navigate guests through the transfer process.
Be ready, new EU visa rules just months away
Travel agents and tour operators have been warned to acquaint themselves with new visa rules which will be applied to the EU’s Schengen trave area from January 2024.
The Schengen Area comprises 27 European countries that have officially abolished all passport and all other types of border control at their mutual borders.
Travellers from more than 60 nations who currently able to travel through the area without a visa will need to apply for an EU Travel Information & Authorisation System – or ‘ETIAS’ – travel authorisation ahead of travel.
This will include countries whose passport holders are not used to applying for permission to travel to many counties, such as Canada, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, Singapore and the United States.
Those who don’t have the necessary ETIAS approval in place will face not being able to board their flights or rejection at the EU borders.
Travel sellers have been advised to ensure their clients have the necessary paperwork before they fly if they are travelling through the European Union.
Christian Sabbagh from Travelsoft (owners of travel tech platforms Travel Compositor, Traffics and Orchestra) advised, “Anyone booking a holiday via a retail travel agent or tour operator expects guidance on visa and entry requirements. It’s a major responsibility and part of the service travel experts provide.”
Alex Barros from hotel revenue management platform BEONx, said the new EU visa requirement offered the possibility of building an ancillary revenue “either by charging for a visa arrangement service or simply using the interaction to convert sales of other products, for example a transfer or room upgrade”.
Now everyone can use their credit cards in China
Chinese tech giant Tencent will allow visitors to China to pay with international credit or debit cards such as Visa via WeChat Pay from mid-July.
Foreign tourists travelling in China will be able to pay with the WeChat app, revealed Royal Chen, vice president of Tencent Financial Technology, which owns WeChat, at the recent World Economic Forum.
Chen said the company’s efforts to further open payment services to visitors coincide with the full resumption of travel and tourism to China, as well as major upcoming international events in the country scheduled this year.
In a similar move, Mastercard last month announced that cardholders can link credit or debit cards to the Alipay digital wallet, opening a new payment option for international visitors to China.
Once the overseas credit or debit card is connected to WeChat or Alipay, visitors will have access to a wide range of merchants and services from shopping and dining to hotel accommodations and transportation in China’s cashless society.