$26,7m technology upgrade for Kenya international airports

Global air transport communications and information technology solutions provider SITA has signed a ten-year $26,7-million agreement with the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) to upgrade passenger processing services at its two international airports.

The upgrades, which would include the installation of Kenya’s first self-service check-in kiosks, would be implemented at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA), in Nairobi, and the Moi International Airport (MIA), in Mombasa.

The JKIA would receive 32 self-service check-in kiosks and the MIA 16 kiosks by June 2010.

The upgrade of passenger processing technology would also allow airlines operating in the country to share check-in and boarding facilities.

“Working with SITA we are introducing world-leading technology that will provide the best service for both the airlines and passengers using these airports. This technology will also be available at the new Terminal Four in Nairobi when it opens,” KAA MD George Muhoho said in a statement.

He added that the move to self-service check-in and the adoption of SITA’s common-use technologies would allow the KAA to increase the capacity at the airports and manage peak travel hours better.

“There is now huge global demand for passenger self-service check-in. The majority of passengers clearly prefer self-service options when they are available, which reduces pressure on airport operators during peak periods,” SITA sub-Sahara Africa sales director Sam Munda commented.

In November, the KAA reported that it would invest about $349-million to expand and modernise its major airports over the next four years.

Newswire Reuters had, at the time, quoted Muhoho as saying that the European Investment Bank and the French Development Agency would each provide $93-million of funding, while the World Bank would provide a further $34-million in funding.

The KAA would provide the remainder of the funding.

Story Here



Bookmark the permalink.