Bahrain Airport Launches New Passenger Terminal with SITA Tech

Bahrain International Airport is using SITA technology to improve the customer experience at its new Passenger Terminal. The Bahrain Airport Company (BAC) is hoping that the new Terminal will help the country’s travel industry recover in the wake of COVID-19.

With that in mind, SITA will be outfitting the airport with its Smart Path kiosks, which will in turn support the use of the SITA Flex passenger processing platform. The Smart Path kiosks come with biometric identification capabilities, and will minimize the amount of contact that travelers need to make with shared devices. The airport will also be able to use the Flex platform to develop cloud applications that further expedite the passenger journey.

The Passenger Terminal is a key component of Bahrain’s Airport Modernization Program (AMP), and will raise the airport’s capacity to 14 million travelers on an annual basis. In addition to Smart Path and Flex, BAC has installed several other SITA products at the new facility, including the SITA Flight Info Displays System (FIDS) and the Operations at Airports portfolio. The former will help provide passengers with up-to-date travel information, while the latter will provide the company with actionable data that can be used to make its operations more efficient.

“In addition to the new Passenger Terminal, the AMP includes several infrastructure development projects that will contribute to the realization of Bahrain’s Economic Vision 2030, laying the foundation for a more sustainable and diversified economy,” said BAC CEO Mohamed Yousif Al Binfalah. “With SITA’s support, we have enhanced operational efficiency and are in a stronger position to meet the new standards and measures required during COVID-19.”

“Bahrain International Airport can leap forward and make operations resilient, agile, and safer for all passengers,” said SITA Sales VP Roger Nakouzi. “The implementation allows for deeper integration of Smart Path throughout the airport and further installation of automated systems, future-proofing the airport for decades to come.”

BAC had previously announced that the Passenger Terminal would feature 22 biometric e-Gates from Vision-Box, although that announcement was made well before the COVID-19 pandemic. SITA carried out the contract in collaboration with Thales, and recently provided mobile screening technology for Etihad crew members at Abu Dhabi International Airport.

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February 10, 2021 – by Eric Weiss