Juan Santamaria International Airport (IATA: SJO), Costa Rica’s busiest airport, has selected SITA, the global IT provider to the air transport industry, to implement its ground-breaking control center technology solution.SITA ControlBridgewill provide AERIS Holdings, the airport operator, with a centralized and integrated view of everything happening at the airport, from security to boarding gates, and from ground handling to facilities management. Importantly, it enablesairport collaborative decision making(A-CDM) with all stakeholders.

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SJO is one of the top airports in Central and Latin America and AERIS has an intensive investment program to deliver innovation and technology to strengthen its position. SITA ControlBridge plays an integral role in providing the technology that enables the airport to coordinate, monitor and control all airport operations centrally and break down silos among the various departments and stakeholders operating at the airport.

Rafael Mencia, CEO of AERIS, said: “ControlBridge enables us to integrate and optimize operations across the entire airport into a single command center. It incorporates data from every stakeholder operating at the airport, providing a complete view of everything, all the time. This will give us much more flexibility in managing day-to-day airport operations, optimized resource management, quicker decision making and enhanced emergency response capabilities. Ultimately, it means we’ll be able to provide a better passenger experience.”

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Mencia continued: “SITA was the obvious choice for this project because of its global expertise not only in the technology but also the operations and processes at an airport. As we implement ControlBridge, SITA’s broad and practical experience will be invaluable.”

As part of the project, SITA will also update the airport’s CCTV infrastructure and integrate it into the control center, along with radio communications. SITA’s dedicated delivery team will procure, install, configure, and test the ControlBridge components before it goes live in October.

Elbson Quadros, SITA Vice President for Latin America, said: “This implementation of SITA ControlBridge will provide SJO an integrated command and control capability across what are traditionally standalone functions. This includes airport operations, physical security, engineering and facilities management, baggage handling, emergency response, the airport IT service desk and more. It is a significant move by AERIS to provide Costa Rica with a modern airport that helps improve the country’s competitiveness.”

SITA’s ControlBridge solution provides fit-for-purpose airport control center technology that facilitates enhanced functionality for airports of any size and with nearly any budget. To keep both implementation and maintenance costs to a minimum SITA uses common off-the-shelf hardware where possible. Combined with SITA’s unique in-depth knowledge of integrating data from diverse sources, SITA ControlBridge is the most comprehensive and cost-effective airport integrated control center technology solution available today.