The Frankfurt CUTE Club, comprising 50 airlines and handling agents, has signed an agreement with SITA for deploying 73 of the latest CUSS (Common-Use Self-Service) check-in kiosks at Frankfurt Airport (FRA) starting in July. This is the largest deployment to date of the versatile and compact AirportConnect S3 Kiosk, which has been taking the airport world by storm since its introduction last summer.

Frankfurt Airport, one of the 10 largest air transportation hubs in the world, is adding a fourth runway to be inaugurated by the start of the Winter 2011/12 timetable.  This massive boost in airside capacity will be accompanied by a major new self-service kiosk deployment that maximises the capacity of the existing passenger check-in halls.

Peter Dudenhoefer, Vice President of Terminal and Traffic Management, Fraport AG Frankfurt Airport Services Worldwide, said: “The fourth runway will allow us to increase airside capacity at Frankfurt Airport by more than 50 percent.  The SITA S3 Kiosk will play a vital role in helping us to meet growing passenger traffic and to maintain our smooth and efficient passenger management process while maximising the existing space in FRA’s check-in halls.”

Fraport is working closely with SITA and the Frankfurt CUTE Club to implement the new generation S3 Kiosk.  This includes adapting existing kiosk locations and finding new sites, as well as providing new cabling and other infrastructure.

Initially, the existing CUSS kiosks in Terminals 1 and 2 will be replaced by the state-of-the-art SITA AirportConnect S3 Kiosk. Additional kiosk locations will be added and the entire roll out of 73 units is expected to be completed towards the end of the year.

Two SITA S3 kiosks fit in the same space as one conventional CUSS kiosk. Green by design, SITA AirportConnect S3 Kiosks have the smallest carbon footprint in the industry. They weigh just 70 kg each.

The kiosks are also fitted with passport and document scanners allowing the fast collection of advanced passenger information and Electronic Travel Authorization Service data for visa validation.

Stefan Meyer, Chairperson of the CUTE Club, said:  “These new AirportConnect kiosks will help us to maintain customer satisfaction and reduce passenger-handling costs while avoiding congestion during the check-in process. We are very pleased at this addition to the passenger self-service experience here at Frankfurt.”

Boris Padovan, SITA Regional Vice President East and Central Europe, said: “Frankfurt is one of the world’s leading airports serving 51 million passengers and has a great reputation for being on the cutting edge of passenger self-service. We are very pleased that it is now the site for the world’s largest deployment to date of the AirportConnect S3 Kiosk.”

SITA is the market leader for common use (CUSS) kiosks supplying more airports than any other provider worldwide. SITA manages over 40% of all CUSS sites and close to 40% of the world’s CUSS kiosks.