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Four Indian airports to install Digi Yatra

eNethersole — Fri, 03 Feb 2023 15:35:15 +0000

Kolkata, Pune, Vijayawada and Hyderabad, will install Digi Yatra next month in March.

The Ministry of Civil Aviation said: "Airports Authority of India (AAI) has awarded the work for the implementation of the Biometric Boarding System at Kolkata, Pune, Vijayawada, and Varanasi airports.”

Launched in December last year, the facial biometrics-based Digi Yatra service is currently available at three airports including Delhi, Bengaluru and Varanasi.

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Fri, 03/02/2023 - 12:00

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Four more Indian airports are to benefit from Paperless check-in and boarding service, Digi Yatra.

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SITA report reveals airports and airlines are ramping up their technology

eNethersole — Tue, 31 Jan 2023 19:11:02 +0000

The report reveals that with the post-pandemic recovery CIOs want to ensure operations are as agile and resilient as they are efficient, with IT solutions seen as central to their success. This has spurred an acceleration of digitalisation, with airlines and airports looking to key technology solutions to fortify their operations against disruption while automating the passenger experience.

The industry’s IT spend is projected to continue its steady year-on-year growth trend since 2020 to support this push for digitalisation, with a full 96% of airlines and 93% of airports expecting their IT spend to stay the same or increase in 2023 compared to 2022. Last year airline and airport IT spend rose to an estimated 37 billion USD and 6.8 billion USD respectively.

David Lavorel, CEO, SITA, said: “Air travel has recovered faster from the pandemic than anyone in the industry had initially expected, particularly in Europe and the US. While the recovery is welcome, airports and airlines have found themselves on the back foot with staff and resource shortages. This has put strain on operations, resulting in an increased risk of congestion, delays, cancellations and mishandled baggage. Digitalisation is seen as key to addressing these challenges, providing more scalability and flexibility.”

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Wed, 01/02/2023 - 12:00

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SITA’s Air Transport IT Insights report reveals accelerated digitalisation will help airlines and airports meet rising passenger demand.

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SITA’s Air Transport IT Insights report reveals accelerated digitalisation will help airlines and airports meet rising passenger demand by offering more self-service options.

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SITA partners with Zamna to digitise travel processes

eNethersole — Fri, 27 Jan 2023 10:42:44 +0000

Zamna’s solution uses a decentralised blockchain based model to transform how passenger data, such as passport, visa, and health information, is verified and handled, bringing security, ease, and efficiency benefits for travellers airlines, airports and governments. The first deployment will be focused on AACO’s 30+ airlines.

Instead of passengers presenting travel documents repeatedly to every touch point, each time they fly, Zamna’s ability to verify and securely persist such data will provide SITA customers with ongoing automation enhancements, supporting SITA’s vision of a completely digital travel experience.

Airlines and airports will benefit from a tested and verified technology for reduced processing times, and less infrastructure needed to process passengers. At the same time, border agencies will experience fewer exception cases and fewer passengers requiring on-site processing as the border checks are completed pre-departure. Across the journey, the passenger will enjoy peace of mind that the data is being handled even more securely and that they have satisfied all regulatory requirements to travel. The solution also enhances security for SITA’s clients, whose data is managed in a safe, private, and decentralised manner.

Airlines, airports, and governments can drive operational savings by having confidence in the accuracy and timeliness of traveller data. Verified traveller data will be securely shared throughout the journey, eliminating duplicate processes, increasing trust, and improving the passenger experience.

This approach is a paradigm shift to fundamentally change data management within the aviation industry, elegantly ensuring that the individual traveller has minimal impact and that their documents are read and verified once and put to work many times. SITA’s scale and expert work with 1000+ airports and 70+ governments uniquely position the company to lead this industry-wide commitment to transformation.

David Lavorel, CEO, SITA, said: "The partnership with Zamna Technologies powers the next step in the journey to SITA's vision of enabling a truly connected and digital travel experience along with all the benefits it will deliver: efficiency, improved passenger experience, and increased security."

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Fri, 27/01/2023 - 12:00

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New SITA technology will strengthen airline, airport, and border solutions in partnership with travel identity company Zamna Technologies.

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Spinning the web all around the globe

pIvanova — Wed, 25 Jan 2023 13:47:45 +0000

Technology 25 January 2023

Spinning the web all around the globe

OneWeb’s in-flight connectivity solution – claimed to be a “watershed moment” by the company – is on track for service introduction in mid-2024.

OneWeb in-flight connectivity (IFC) is a step closer to full commercial introduction with distribution partnership agreements now signed with Intelsat, Panasonic Avionics and Eutelsat.

Ben Griffin, OneWeb vice president, mobility services, said the company is also in dialogue with major original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to make it line-fit available on new commercial aircraft.

“We now have agreements that cover 80% of the commercial market and are on track for service introduction in the middle of 2024,” Griffin said. “We aim to have full global coverage by the end of next year.”

At the time of writing, the company’s next launch of 36 satellites was due to take place in India on October 15. With this launch, OneWeb will have more than 70% of its planned Gen 1 low-Earth orbit (LEO) constellation in orbit delivering high-speed, low-latency connectivity services around the world.

A SpaceX launch the following month should loft a further 30-plus satellites.

OneWeb’s new global distribution partnership agreements claim to offer airlines seamless IFC with what it says is the best combination of performance, coverage and reliability on the market.

While the existing Ku-band offers a vast installed base of aviation users, fast speeds and up to about 85 degrees coverage north and south of the equator, OneWeb’s LEO satellites offer truly global coverage with low latency.

OneWeb says that airlines and their passengers will no longer have to accept significant gaps in IFC coverage or capacity, even at busy hubs, across oceans, and over polar routes, as it will seamlessly manage connectivity, allowing passengers to remain connected no matter where they are.

Griffin said: “This is a watershed moment for the IFC market and we’re excited to work together with our partners to bring our multi-orbit solution to commercial aviation.

“We’re committed to delivering the most differentiated and innovative solution for airlines.

“We are proving that, through the power of partnership, a superior suite of multi-orbit capabilities can be offered to better serve the growing connectivity needs of the commercial aviation industry, delivering the highest value coupled with the lowest risk.”

OneWeb and Stellar Blu (formerly GDC Advanced Technology) demonstrated the LEO satcom service back in May. The first test-flight was conducted aboard a Boeing B777-200LR and took off from Fort Worth Alliance Airport (KAFW), in Texas , flying for a little more than an hour.

It simultaneously demonstrated the ability to connect MS Teams calls, 4K YouTube streaming, Netflix, online VR gaming, and Nintendo Switch gaming, among other structured performance tests.

Maximum speeds of 260Mbps download/80Mbps upload and file transfer scenarios of 5GB demonstrated in approximately 20 seconds were achieved, all while operating at less than 100ms of network latency.

“This successful flight-test demonstrates the power, not only of the OneWeb network, but our industry-focused and partnership-led approach to the design, development, and deployment of ground-breaking technologies to connect commercial aviation. It’s a solution designed for the aviation industry, by the aviation industry,” said Griffin.

OneWeb also recently announced that it plans to merge with geostationary satellite giant, Eutelsat.

Eutelsat Communications and key OneWeb shareholders have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the objective of creating a leading global player in connectivity through the combination of both companies in an all-share transaction. Eutelsat will combine its 36-strong fleet of GEO satellites with OneWeb’s constellation of 648 LEO satellites, of which 428 are currently in orbit.

The transaction would be structured as an exchange of OneWeb shares by its shareholders (other than Eutelsat) with new shares issued by Eutelsat, such that, at closing, Eutelsat would own 100% of OneWeb (excluding the ‘special share’ of the UK Government). OneWeb shareholders would receive 230 million newly issued Eutelsat shares representing 50% of the enlarged share capital.

The potential transaction builds on the collaboration between Eutelsat and OneWeb, which began with the equity stake acquired by Eutelsat in OneWeb in April 2021.

Steve Nichols

Steve (BSc Hons, FIIC) is a journalist and communicator with more than 35 years' experience.

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EDGE invests in High Lander

eNethersole — Tue, 24 Jan 2023 13:19:37 +0000

High Lander, is behind Universal UTM, a drone-agnostic unmanned traffic management solution which provides the automation, coordination, and safety much needed in increasingly crowded skies. The US$14 million investment creates a ground-breaking partnership and is already forging ongoing deals and high-value opportunities in both the military and civilian domains between some of the world’s biggest technology providers, as both companies progress along their respective roadmaps.

Faisal Al Bannai, chairman of the Board of EDGE, said: “As EDGE grows rapidly, and with our focus increasingly being directed to the development of world-leading autonomous aerospace solutions, the need for a superior and readily available air traffic management platform could not be more urgent. Today’s operating environments require the most advanced unmanned air traffic control systems, and High Lander provides the only truly universal solution for this critical requirement. Our investment in High Lander as a major shareholder is logical for EDGE, and mutually beneficial and opportune for both companies, allowing us to grow and perfect these solutions further together, in both the military and civilian domains.”

As part of its international growth strategy, EDGE, which comprises an impressive portfolio of 20 complementary companies, is placing a clear focus on the development of autonomous systems, including unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), smart weapons, and cyber technologies. The group is keen to further assist High Lander in developing its next-generation Universal UTM solution, which enables the safe coexistence of manned and unmanned aviation. EDGE aims to utilise Universal UTM in the management of autonomous operations.

Alon Abelson, co-founder and CEO of High Lander, added: “We are excited about the strategic partnership with EDGE because it strengthens High Lander's position as a market leader in drone fleet management and UTM spaces as we begin to scale globally. High Lander and EDGE have a mutual goal of creating the most technologically advanced airspace automation systems possible, and we look forward to working with EDGE for many years to come.”

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Tue, 24/01/2023 - 12:00

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The UAE’s EDGE, a provider of advanced technology and defence groups, has made a strategic investment with unmanned traffic management provider High Lander.

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New air traffic management system successfully implemented in Bahrain

eNethersole — Wed, 18 Jan 2023 16:16:15 +0000

DFS Aviation Services (DAS) and Indra have conducted a transition pre-planning phase with operational trials and operator training before going live at the beginning of the month.

DFS Aviation Services and engineering technology company Indra have worked together to ensure a 'perfect' transition to the system that brings CAA a new whole range of functionalities to manage flights with greater precision and strength coordination with other control centres in the region.

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Wed, 18/01/2023 - 12:00

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UTC, the new state of the art Indra system, went live at Bahrain Ministry of Transportation and Telecommunications’ Civil Aviation Affairs (CAA) facilities this week without any interruptions.

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Aerospace Xelerated announces start-ups joining its fourth cohort

eNethersole — Tue, 17 Jan 2023 09:56:51 +0000

Following three successful programmes led by Boeing and supported by industry partners, this year’s programme will be run in partnership with Tawazun Council, the defence and security acquisitions authority of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

From 158 applications from around the world, the companies joining the programme come from the following countries: Australia, Canada, Japan, Netherlands, UAE, UK and USA.

Start-ups accepted into the programme will have the option to benefit from a £100K investment from Boeing, with potential for additional funding from partners. Through Aerospace Xelerated, start-ups will be introduced to a network of angel investors, venture capitalists and key stakeholders amongst the aerospace industry, throughout the 12-week programme. Successful companies will also get more than £100K in programme perks from partners including startup providers Oracle, Amazon, HubSpot, Digital Ocean and many more.

Abdulla Saif Al Awani, chief economic programme officer at Tawazun Council, said: “Start-ups are increasingly playing a major role in the changes happening in the economic landscape. Tawazun has been supporting innovation since our early days and running this programme alongside Boeing will enable us to work closely with these amazing companies that are going to shape the future of aerospace.”

Alongside Boeing and Tawazun Council, programme partners include the Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA), GKN Aerospace and Etihad Airways. The partners will provide the cohort with industry insights and expertise. The selected companies will have access to strategists and technical experts for support in developing proof of concept opportunities and receive mentoring from a global network of experienced entrepreneurs, mentors and investors.

The international cohort includes:

Aerosens, Aiir Innovations, AR Engineering, Basetwo, Conductor Software, Dessia Technologies, KIT-AR, Nabla Mobility, Quaisr, and Zetamotion.

The 11 start-ups working on Digital Services and Solutions joining cohort four cover the programme’s key focuses: Flight & Passenger Journey Optimisation; Supply Chain Intelligence; Next Generation Workforce; and Operational Efficiency.

Posted date

Tue, 17/01/2023 - 12:00

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Aerospace Xelerated has announced the 11 start-ups working on digital services and solutions to solve key challenges for the aerospace sector.

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Aerospace Xelerated has announced the 11 start-ups working on digital services and solutions that will join their fourth cohort to solve key challenges for the aerospace sector.

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Emirates invests in high-speed broadband onboard 50 new A350 aircraft

eNethersole — Thu, 12 Jan 2023 11:17:41 +0000

The new agreement will significantly improve the passenger experience with enhanced connectivity and greater global coverage, even on flights over the Arctic.

The Airbus A350s will be the first Emirates aircraft to take advantage of Inmarsat’s Global Xpress (GX) satellite network, which powers the world’s first and only globally available broadband network, ensuring passengers can enjoy uninterrupted global connectivity, no matter their destination, including the North Pole. The advanced high-speed capabilities of the broadband will enable Emirates passengers to stay connected with family and friends, browse the internet, and enjoy social media, all from the comfort of their seat.

The GX network that will power the Emirates inflight broadband currently consists of five Ka-band satellites and will be further enhanced with the addition of seven more satellite payloads as part of Inmarsat's fully funded technology roadmap. This includes two Inmarsat-6s, the most sophisticated commercial communications satellites ever built, both of which are scheduled to enter service in 2023. These will be followed by three additional satellites in geostationary orbit – adding speed, capacity, and resilience – and two in highly elliptical orbit, to enable the world’s only commercial mobile broadband service for aircraft flying in higher elevations and across the Arctic, such as routes between the Middle East and North America.

Adel al Redha, Emirates’ chief operating officer, said "Delivering a world-class onboard experience has always been paramount to Emirates and we understand the importance of being connected during flights. Over the years, we have worked closely with Inmarsat and our supplier partners to ensure all our aircraft offer Wi-Fi connectivity. We look forward to finding ways and options to improve the connectivity on-board our aircraft by utilising GX Aviation for our Airbus A350 fleet. The advanced capabilities being introduced by the forthcoming satellites are particularly important, as this will boost capacity across our global network, including aircraft flying over the Arctic for routes between the Middle East and America."

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Thu, 12/01/2023 - 12:00

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Emirates has invested with new high-speed, inflight broadband powered by Inmarsat’s GX Aviation, onboard 50 new Airbus A350 aircraft - scheduled to enter service in 2024.

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New GSSA for TAAG Angola Airlines in the UK and Ireland

eNethersole — Tue, 10 Jan 2023 11:09:41 +0000

John Gilfeather, NAS’ UK sales director, said “We are very happy to have been selected as TAAG Angola’s new cargo GSSA. This new agreement allows Network’s teams to offer its customers new routes and services with reduced quoting times as well as making booking confirmations smoother and more efficient.”

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Tue, 10/01/2023 - 12:00

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Network Airline Services has been appointed as the GSSA for TAAG Angola Airlines in the UK and Ireland, it became effective on 1st of January 2023.

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Gulf Air renews contract with flydocs

eNethersole — Tue, 10 Jan 2023 10:32:12 +0000

Under the five-year renewal, flydocs will continue to support Gulf Air with digital records management software for its fleet of over 35 aircraft.

Gulf Air and flydocs have had a valued and long-standing partnership for over five years where flydocs has been providing a software service to support Gulf Air to manage their assets and lease returns. Gulf Air recently selected the world-leading engineering and maintenance MRO and will be looking to gain improvements in aircraft compliance management utilising the advanced features and interfaces available in the flydocs platform.

André Fischer, chief executive officer, flydocs said: “We are delighted to reaffirm our strong relationship with Gulf Air, which is a testimony to delivering advanced software, technical expertise, and exceptional support to our clients. In the last few years, our robust relationship has strengthened due to our aligned values and a strong drive to innovate the aviation industry. The unique digital-led solution we offer to our customers provides them with a seamless experience on our core records management platform. It is a privilege to be chosen as their asset solution partner of choice as that re-establishes their faith in us. We look forward to working with them to build upon the momentum we've developed so far and continue growing this collaborative relationship with Gulf Air.”

Captain Waleed AlAlawi, chief executive officer, Gulf Air said: "Gulf Air is excited about the long-term continuation of our partnership with flydocs. Our technical and professional capabilities are a reflection of the success of our ‘boutique’ strategy and the ongoing enhancements to products and services. We’re committed to delivering the best information technology solutions to enhance and strengthen our business as we constantly work with the latest technologies to provide the best services to our customers, which is also why we chose flydocs. Since we migrated to a new engineering and maintenance MRO, this long-term arrangement with flydocs adds enormous value as we will benefit from the digital capabilities, they provide to drive savings in both our cost and operational efficiencies.”

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Tue, 10/01/2023 - 12:00

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Gulf Air has extended an agreement with flydocs, an asset management solution provider for the aviation industry, to provide digital records management software.

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Four Indian airports to install Digi Yatra

SITA report reveals airports and airlines are ramping up their technology

SITA partners with Zamna to digitise travel processes

Spinning the web all around the globe

Steve Nichols

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EDGE invests in High Lander

New air traffic management system successfully implemented in Bahrain

Aerospace Xelerated announces start-ups joining its fourth cohort

Emirates invests in high-speed broadband onboard 50 new A350 aircraft

New GSSA for TAAG Angola Airlines in the UK and Ireland

Gulf Air renews contract with flydocs