Stuttgart Airport aims for 30% kiosk self-check-in with SITA deployment

The Stuttgart (Germany) Airport is flying toward having almost a full third of its 10 million annual passengers use self-service check-in kiosks after the largest European deployment of SITA's new, compact AirportConnect S3 kiosk, according to a SITA press release.

In a deal valued at $13.3 million, Stuttgart Airport both renewed its CUTE (Common Use Terminal Equipment) contract with SITA and began full integration of its AirportConnect check-in systems with 32 new AirportConnect S3 kiosks, which have the lowest carbon foot print of any kiosk in the industry, according to SITA.

"We have been collaborating successfully with SITA for the last 15 years through many upgrades and migrations on our check-in systems. The migration to SITA's AirportConnect check-in platform last year paved the way for the installation of the kiosks. So far 11 of our customer airlines are using them and they are proving to be very popular with passengers," airport traffic operations manager Susanne Hermann said.

"Ultimately we expect that 30 percent of our passenger throughput will be handled by the kiosks and this innovation will help us to reduce costs and provide much more convenience to passengers. There is great appreciation of the fact that we are installing kiosks off-site as well. We have placed two in the nearby Movenpick Hotel, and we also plan to install some in the new Trade Fair Centre which is also near the airport."

The AirportConnect S3 kiosks weigh just 70 kilograms each and boast the smallest carbon footprint in the industry, as well as a printer that can issue up to 5,300 boarding passes from a single roll, according to SITA. Two S3 Kiosks take up the same space as one conventional CUSS (Common Use Self Service) kiosk.