SITA’s APIS solutions to be customised for Indian market

Mumbai: Carriers operating in the Indian skies failed to comply with an order placed by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to implement Advanced Passenger Information System (APIS) by August 1, 2008. This was the second deadline the airlines missed, while the first deadline was July this year. But according to a recent press statement issued by SITA, major international airlines were using its community APIS solutions which now have to be customised for the Indian market. By the end of the year almost all of the airlines serving some 75 per cent of all India-bound passengers will deliver APIS information using this system, said the statement.
Speaking with TravelBiz Monitor, Bruno Frentzel, Vice President – Applications Services, SITA said, “Our APIS solution is already being used by 50 international carriers, but now we have to customise the solution for the Indian sector. The charges for using the APIS solution will depend on the volume of clients for a particular airline. We are positive about the future growth in terms of signing more deals with international carriers flying to India as the rule is now mandatory; airlines have to follow it for security reasons in the country.”
The APIS system is already operational at Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai and Kochi airports. Plans are in the pipeline to introduce the system at Kolkata, Amritsar, Guwahati, Ahmedabad, Goa and Trivandrum airports by the end of this year. “We are aiming to introduce the system at all the airports from where the direct international flights take off,” added Frentzel.
18/20/08 Anita Jain/TravelBizMonitor

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Categories: Airports Oct 2008, Foreign Oct 2008, Indian Aviation- In General Oct 2008