SITA, the air transport IT specialist, was awarded for the best airport IT service provider last week during the Emerging Markets Airports Awards Ceremony, which took place during a gala dinner at the Al Bustan Rotana in Dubai. At this annual prestigious award ceremony, a further 28 categories of airport excellence were recognized. The focus of the award is the use of integrated IT solutions, which play a crucial role in the optimization of airport processes, in particular, recognizing the development of SITA's “Intelligent Airport” concept. Over the past year, SITA has secured a number of major contracts for integrated solutions with airports in the growing Middle East region, including in Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi, Egypt and Turkey. EMA awards honour Aviation industry players and Airports from across the emerging markets of the Middle East, Africa, Indian Subcontinent, Russia, CIS and Baltic states by surveying the most diverse and discerning group of professionals who are experts in their field. The awards were created to recognize the outstanding achievements of individuals and companies in the aviation industry and the highest levels of quality consistency. A total of 91,115 nominations and 34,000 votes were submitted for the awards and examined by the internationally acclaimed auditors Frost & Sullivan and advisory board members. The EMA awards ceremony was attended by senior delegates and key players in the aviation industry, from around the world as well as the Middle East. SITA delivers and manages business solutions for airline, airport, GDS, government and other customers over the world's most extensive network, which forms the communications backbone of the global air transport industry. SITA's portfolio includes managing global communications; infrastructure and outsourcing services, as well as services for airline commercial management and passenger operations; flight operations; aircraft operations and air-to-ground communications; airport management and operations; baggage operations; transportation security and border management; cargo operations and more. With a customer service team of over 1,600 staff around the world, SITA invests significantly in achieving best-in-class customer service, providing integrated local and global support for both its communications and IT application services. SITA has two main subsidiaries: OnAir, which is the leading provider of in-flight connectivity, and CHAMP Cargosystems, the world's only IT company dedicated solely to air cargo. SITA also operates two joint ventures providing services to the air transport community: Aviareto for aircraft asset management and CertiPath for secure electronic identity management. Set up in 1949 with 11 member airlines, SITA today employs people of more than 140 nationalities, speaking over 70 different languages. SITA consolidated revenues of over $1.47 billion in 2008. __
