Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport has introduced nearly 50 of SITA’s mobile-enabled kiosks, becoming one of the first airports in India to deliver a completely contactless way for passengers to check-in for their flight.

The technology allows passengers to use their mobile device to interact with kiosks. This significantly reduces the need to touch surfaces in the airport and meets the Ministry of Civil Aviation’s (MoCA’s) new passenger processing guidelines aimed at reducing the risk of spreading COVID-19 infections.

Developed in response to rapidly changing passenger requirements as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the application is a cost-effective alternative to significant investment in new low-touch infrastructure. The solution leverages existing common-use kiosks and does not require changes or modifications to airlines’ existing IATA CUSS standard check-in applications.

Mumbai Airport handles more than 47 million passengers a year. With this technology, travelers passing through Terminal 2 of the airport can now simply scan a QR code on their mobile phone or tablet to operate the kiosks. After scanning the QR code, they can then use their mobile device as a trackpad to control check-in and self-bag drop kiosks to print their boarding passes and bag tags.

Rajeev Jain, CEO, MIAL, said: “With the focus on passenger convenience, the new contactless technology has been developed in response to the rapidly changing passenger requirements due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  We want to reassure our patrons of their safety at the airport and are willing to go the extra mile to alleviate any fear of travel during these challenging times.”

Maneesh Jaikrishna, SITA Vice President for the Indian Subcontinent, Dubai, Eastern & Southern Africa said: “In the aftermath of COVID-19, we are focused in delivering technology solutions that help our customers quickly deliver a safe and smooth passenger journey. We are pleased to have supported Mumbai Airport with this, and we’re subsequently rolling this solution to other airports in India too.”

SITA has developed a broad range of solutions to help airports through the post-COVID environment, detailed in the recent ‘Runway for Future Operations’ report. SITA President for Europe, Sergio Colella, will also be discussing the aviation industry’s recovery at the upcoming World Aviation Festival 2020.