17 October 2022
ABOMIS Innovations, with the cooperation of IATA, has officially introduced the first IATA Common Use Passenger Processing System (CUPPS)* certified mobile Departure Control System (DCS) in the world.
Having an Android/iOS-based DCS certified by IATA, marks the beginning of a new era for the aviation industry where mobile devices successfully meet modern airport standards. The aim of this CUPPS DCS system is to improve the level of service to passengers and the flexibility for airlines and airports by shortening the waiting time in the check-in and boarding queues.
Users have the ability to open a new check-in counter with a tablet or mobile phone where airport physical resources are constrained, particularly when unexpected events occur. Common use IATA standards let airlines share hardware resources of the airport. Now using ABOMIS solutions, counter hardware can be augmented with multiple mobile agent’s tablets or phones.
“ABOMIS Innovations expresses deep gratitude for the extensive help of Dietrich Hasselhorn, the IATA and Lufthansa system expert who made this project a success.”
Ali Timajchi, Vice President of ABOMIS Innovations
The recent sudden increase in passenger demand has resulted in chaos at many (not all) airports. Recent technology improvements, flexibility, and common use facilities have eliminated many problems for airport operators in terms of optimizing space and limiting the need for costly passenger processing software and hardware. The successor of traditional check-in desk sharing technology (CUTE), Common Use Passenger Processing (CUPPS) provides sharing standards applicable to all check-in platforms. When CUPPS was introduced by IATA, the airport authorities were reluctant to abandon existing assets in order to implement another new untried system. However, by now CUPPS has proved to be a reliable, cost effective, platform for providing the seamless experience of sharing equipment.
Despite the resilience of common use solutions like CUPPS, current airport environments may not be able to meet sudden surges of passenger demand. On such occasions, airports inevitably face multiple investment challenges. Automation experts have proposed numerous solutions to resolve the volume challenges.
The following some of the are the advantages the Android/iOS CUPPS functionality will provide to passenger processing and airport operations:
Convenience of adding new check-in gates
The Android/iOS-based CUPPS allows operators to dynamically add extra check-in locations for the minimum commitment of physical equipment and capital. Authorities can simply open a new check-in or gate location by bringing a tablet or mobile phone connected to a printer and thus avoid using PCs and other costly and unwieldy peripherals. With this approach, space will only be used when an extra position is required.
Impact of user experience and technology overhaul
Mobile device programs can easily be installed at a fraction of cost compared to classic computer devices. Moreover, handling agents require little time and practice to be skillful in such applications as most of them use smartphones in their daily routines. Additionally, mobile-based applications’ future is guaranteed by open technology Android and iOS operating systems as they serve a huge user base, and provide frequent non-destructive updates for migration to enhancements in later generations without operational challenges.
Providing backup DCS
System outages in an airport are disastrous events that occur (hopefully infrequently) in many airports around the world and there is no guarantee of preventing them. Android/iOS CUPPS solutions can provide a capacity for battery powered mobile devices with WIFI and Mobile Data capability that can compensate for power or internet failures during periods of operational necessity. Allowing agents to connect to a backup DCS offsite cloud based DCS and thus proceed with their operation without significant interruption.
About ABOMIS
ABOMIS is a global provider of IT solutions and services for airports, airlines and ground handlers which is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada. We help small, medium-sized and low-cost airlines, airports, ground handlers and charter companies to run their operations with big aviation company tools.
For more information visit ABOMIS.com