Biarritz Airport takes the lead in passenger processing technology in France with Amadeus

Imagine being checked-in at the hotel or at your congress center before you leave for the airport. These are just some of the options now open to Biarritz Airport and its partners for improving the way they serve their passengers passing through the airport each year.

 

This is all possible thanks to a new partnership between Amadeus and Biarritz Airport to implement Amadeus Airport Common Use Service (ACUS) which will bring agility and flexibility of operations to airlines, ground handlers and passengers. With the unique features of ACUS it will be possible to check-in and process passengers from virtually anywhere.

 

Importantly for Biarritz, an airport that experiences summer peaks in demand, measures can now be taken to reduce queues and handle demand through more flexible check-in and bag drop operations.

 

According to Didier Rich‚, Directeur G‚n‚ral, Biarritz Airport, being able to innovate is critical to servicing and attracting airline customers, “Today, simply offering core airport services and a destination isn’t enough. Airports must recognise the experience they offer is critical to both travellers and airlines. We’re proud to be the first airport in France to break from legacy common use systems so that we can re-think how we service passengers. Amadeus’ technology will play a key role to support us in achieving our objectives of digitalising our operations and building a foundation for mobility and self-services.”  

 

Rich‚ continued, “Thanks to off-airport check-in, we will be able to offer new  services that allow travellers to spend more time sight seeing, shopping and enjoying their trip. And while at the airport, faster and simpler check-in means passengers will have more freedom and time at the airport to explore new services such as retail. Amadeus’ technology is enabling us to  provide excellent service to our passengers.”

 

ACUS enables greater flexibility and agility in operations as there is no need to manage any dedicated common use servers at an airport. Airline applications are no longer deployed to local airport workstations so server deployment and local site administration is not required. With ACUS, airline applications are individually hosted as virtualised applications within a centralised server environment so check-in agents can access and launch any airline application via a web browser rather than only one airline-specific software on dedicated desktop on the airport workstation.

 

Yannick Beunardeau, Global Head of Sales and Marketing, Airport IT at Amadeus said, “Biarittz Airport is our first Amadeus ACUS customer in France, which is a major milestone for us. Today, legacy common use platforms are no longer fit for purpose, they require airlines to maintain expensive network links, rely on significant hardware or dated operating systems at the airport, and constrain the evolution of airlines and how passengers are served.”

 

Beunardeau added, “Airport-related companies can now embrace the capability of the internet - like other industries have done - thanks to ACUS, and develop a fundamental shift in aviation. Our remote check-in technology is not only a way to improve IT but to improve our customers’ business itself. Airports are realising that by innovating through technology they can gain a competitive edge and add value to both airlines and passengers.”

 

Thirty four airports across various continents have now signed agreements for Amadeus’ cloud-based Airport Common Use Service (ACUS) technology.