This follows SITA’s successful deployment of these systems to support the opening of the new terminal in October last year. These systems include common-use check-in desks and self-service check-in kiosks, allowing the airport to maximize its capacity by enabling airlines to cost-effectively share the same infrastructure. The airport will also make use of SITA’s state of the art baggage management technology that will assist airlines in reconciling and tracking bags across the journey.

On the operational side, SITA’s Airport Management Solution will simplify planning and real-time operational control by facilitating collaborative decision-making among stakeholders while optimizing the use of airport resources. It will also support revenue management with its billing and reporting functionality.

Over the next five years, SITA will be responsible for the maintenance and operations of these key systems and integration with other airport systems.

Yaw Kwakwa, Managing Director of Ghana Airports Company, said: “Having implemented many of the solutions in use at Terminal 3, together with their experience across numerous African airports, SITA were best placed to support the management of these vital systems that underpin the smooth operation of Kotoka International Airport.”

Hani El-Assaad, SITA President, Middle East, India & Africa, said: “With a rapidly expanding economy in Ghana, Kotoka International Airport has emerged as one of the main and fastest-growing hubs on the continent. We are pleased to support the smooth operation of this important hub. It is an endorsement of SITA’s experience and proven technology that today is used in many airports across Africa.”

Operating in 45 of the 54 African countries, SITA’s supports a growing footprint of airports across the continent, including key hubs such as OR Tambo International in South Africa and Bole International Airport in Ethiopia.

The Group also revealed that it is over-performing in terms of building domestic airports.

Presenting its nine-month report before HPR Transport Affairs Standing Committee,Tewdros Dawit, CEO of Ethiopian Airports Enterprise said that the expansion work at Bole International Airport has been given much attention by the airlines, and the first phase of the work will be operational by the end of June. “We are in the position to make the east wing operational,” he added.

He added that the the entire expansion project will be completed either by the end of this year, and it is expected that it will enable the Airport to accommodate up to 22 million passengers per year.

“It will hugely address the congestion issue”, Dawit said. “When the project is completed, we believe it opens a big chapter and will enable the airport to make a big leap within the continental aviation industry.”

In regards to the new major hub project of the airline, the CEO said that given the project’s grandiosity, it needs the attention of all the relevant stakeholders. “And given the attention bestowed by the government, we are expecting that we will enter into work soon,” he added.