Air Arabia chooses SITA Horizon as it doubles passenger numbers

SITA today announced that Air Arabia, the first and largest low cost carrier in the Middle East, selected the SITA Horizon passenger management system to provide a seamless transit service at Air Arabia’s 70 departure points across 32 countries as the airline expands its network. 

This multi-million dollar, seven-year deal includes departure control services and self-service check-in along with SITA’s new generation weight and balance system, and the connectivity and messaging associated with the operations including IP VPN, and SITA’s shared telecommunications infrastructure solution AirportHub. 

SITA will connect Air Arabia’s multi-hub destinations and provide seamless passenger services across its growing network while using Air Arabia’s own service agents and ground handling partners. 

Hani El Assaad, SITA Regional Vice President Middle East and North Africa said: “SITA’s comprehensive managed solution allows Air Arabia to control costs effectively as our departure control, network and messaging solutions are charged per passenger checked-in, mirroring the airline’s business activity and requiring minimal capital investment. We also provide a single help desk for integrated and responsive customer support. 

“Having an innovative airline like Air Arabia chose SITA Horizon is a clear endorsement of our investment strategy in the platform and confirms SITA as a major player in this exciting market.” 

Air Arabia, which has been profitable since its first year of operation, flies to 70 destinations in the Middle East, North Africa, the Indian subcontinent, Central Asia and Europe from three hubs in UAE, Morocco and Egypt. Since its first flight in 2003 the Air Arabia fleet has expanded to 28 Airbus A320-200 aircraft and the airline has an order for 44 aircraft of this type to support its future growth.