IT makes sense to share: Making the case for the cloud in Common Use airport technology

At Amadeus we believe it is fundamental to discuss and debate how future technology trends can best improve the operational and commercial performance of the air travel industry. We are fortunate that over twenty senior IT leaders from the industry have shared their views on the issues contained within this short insight paper, and we thank them both for their interest and time.

Up to now, Common-Use systems (airport platforms with passenger processing capabilities), have been using different standards for passenger check-in and boarding, such as Common Use Terminal Equipment (CUTE) or Common Use Passenger Processing Systems (CUPPS). However, these passenger processing systems do not allow true location-independent passenger processing. By migrating to cloud-based services, airlines and airports will become more flexible, having the possibility of adjusting their systems according to their needs.

This report goes into detail in the factors that enable cloud technology (application virtualization, improved networks and very sophisticated mobile devices) and the associated benefits of its adoption in the air industry: hardware, network and maintenance costs reduction, location flexibility, ease of certification and energy use efficiency.

Through this article they are also dispelled cloud computing myths related to security, risks and physical infrastructure.

The adoption of cloud computing technology rather than using traditional common-use models, could provide great benefits to airlines and airports industry.