Airport International Group embarks on IT modernisation

AMMAN — The Airport International Group (AIG) has launched a major modernisation of the Queen Alia International Airport’s (QAIA) systems to deliver a foundation for innovation and the flexibility to react to new market dynamics.

In a statement released on Wednesday, the group said it had turned to Amadeus, a global travel technology company, “as a strategic partner to launch an agile, Internet-enabled model that can be scaled up and or down to match fluctuating passenger demand”.

“The first phase of the implementation has just been completed and sees QAIA use Amadeus technology to achieve maximum efficiency by integrating airport operations, as well as passenger and baggage services, into a single platform,” read the statement carried by the Jordan News Agency, Petra.

AIG CEO Nicolas Claude said in the statement: “The new cutting-edge platform enables us to strategically use our data to improve our airport operations and services across the board, allowing us to extend better offerings to our airline partners and passengers.”

“Changing these mission-critical IT systems will enable QAIA to be more adaptive — especially since we are on the verge of resuming operations — as the current situation may require us to promptly adjust our operations,” AIG COO Nicolas Duthilleul was quoted in the statement as saying.

Commenting on the modernisation programme, AIG IT Director Waseem Al Rousan said: “The benefits of a cloud-based approach are already apparent as we have delivered the migration on time, despite the previously enforced lockdown. Once we reopen, the agility of Amadeus’ technology will play a key role in helping us recover and overcome any challenges we may face, while ensuring we continue to provide the high service levels for which we have become renowned.”

Meanwhile, Amadeus Vice President Airport IT, Europe, Middle East and Africa Yannick Beunardeau said: “More than 50 people across Airport International Group and Amadeus working from all over the world ensured we met our timelines amidst this challenging environment. It simply wouldn’t have been possible for us to handle this project if we needed to be extensively on-site fitting out local server rooms and networking equipment. Once again, the cloud has delivered great value.”

The second phase of the deployment will be completed by the end of 2020 and will see the implementation of Amadeus’ Altea Departure Control, self-service check-in and e-gates to ease the transit of passengers through QAIA, according to the statement.