ARINC's airport systems go-live at UAE's Ras Al Khaimah International Airport.

Tuesday 1st October 2013

Brings airport one step closer to remote check-in and bag drop solutions.

Ras Al Khaimah, UAE -- ARINC Incorporated, a global leader in passenger processing solutions, has completed the implementation of systems at RAK International Airport, part of the multi-million dollar deal signed a year ago. The systems 'Go live' on 1 October.

The 10-year contract signed on 30 September, 2012 was to implement multiple airport systems at the UAE's northern emirate airport. The project involved the design, supply and installation of ARINC's core suite of airport passenger processing solutions, as well as advanced airport operational systems, including a state-of-the-art vMUSE Common Use Passenger Processing Solution (CUPPS), AirVue Flight Information Display System (FIDS) and ARINC's latest generation Airport Operational Database (AODB) AirDB 7 system.

The news was announced at the RAK Airport by H.H. Engr. Sheikh Salem Bin Sultan Al Qassimi, Chairman of Ras Al Khaimah International Airport, Department of Civil Aviation and Tony Lynch, ARINC's Regional Director, Middle East & Africa in the presence of Andrew Gower, CEO of Ras Al Khaimah International Airport.

H.H. Sheikh Salem said: "RAK International Airport's strategic vision is tied into the larger vision of the emirate of growing tourism, trade and commerce.  The growth and progress of Ras Al Khaimah is intrinsically linked to the growth of the airport.

"We have continuously delivered on all of our promises for this, year including the current expansion phase which is already seeing the airport receiving a steadily increasing number of passengers. We are confident that the ARINC systems which have gone live today will make us a hi-tech, efficient and integrated airport. We are already pioneering several firsts and ARINC is the right partner who has embraced the concept of taking the airport out into the wider Ras Al Khaimah, the resorts, hotels and the city."

By utilising Virtualisation technology, ARINC has delivered a robust and scalable platform which will enable RAK Airport to grow its passenger processing capability and introduce additional leading edge technologies such as ARINC's remote check-in and bag drop solutions. The installation of VMuse/CUPPS, L-DCS, AirVue (FIDS), AirDB (AODB), InfoHub and Multi-Channel at the airport, in what will be the first off-site hotel check-in and bag drop in the region to be operational within the next few months, will also equip the airport with future intelligence that will change the way in which people use it today.

Lynch explained: "The vMUSE platform supports legacy CUTE Airline applications as well as next generation CUPPS applications giving RAK Airport the ability to support all current and future Airline applications which comply to IATA standards. AirVue FIDS allows RAK Airport to provide real-time flight information to passengers blended with rich multimedia content such as promotional videos and live TV streaming.

"The AirDB 7 implementation in RAK is the first global implementation of ARINC's next generation AODB which gives RAK Airport the ability to plan and track operational data and enhance automation of data feeds to key operational teams across the Airport.

"These technologies will enable RAK Airport to achieve their goal of being a fully automated, integrated airport with previously manual processes such as generating invoices and charge notes to their customers already implemented out of the box. All of these systems, and more, are hosted in a fully Virtualized environment which provides RAK Airport with the ability to easily expand in the future without the need to invest in more Hardware. The ARINC core infrastructure deployed in RAK Airport is a state of the art implementation that we believe will greatly enhance the efficiency, stability and scalability of operations at the airport."

The ARINC and RAK Airport teams worked seamlessly together to successfully deliver the systems. Having one of the best ARINC Engineering teams in the world located in the Middle East & Africa region ensured the technical success and ARINC's Dubai based Project and Account Management team kept things on track enabling the development of a great relationship with the RAK Airport team.

About ARINC:

ARINC Incorporated, a portfolio company of The Carlyle Group, provides communications, engineering and integration solutions for commercial, and government customers worldwide. Headquartered in Annapolis, Maryland with regional headquarters in London and Singapore, ARINC is ISO 9001:2008 and AS9100:2009 Rev C certified. For more information, visit the website at:   www.arinc.com.

About RAK International Airport:

Inaugurated in 1976 by His Excellency Sheikh Saqr bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, RAK International Airport is currently celebrating 35 years of operation. Located 18 km from the city, the airport is modern with state-of-the-art equipment and boasts a 3,760-metre-long runway capable of handling the biggest aircraft currently in service. Six scheduled carriers and over 25 charter airlines fly through RAK International Airport. The airport was the second in the GCC to secure the ISO 9001:2000 accreditation for quality management.