SITA is a multinationalinformation technology company providing IT and telecommunication services to the air transport industry. The company provides its services to around 400 members and 2,500 customers worldwide, which it claims is about 90% of the world's airline business.[4] Around the world, nearly every passenger flight relies on SITA technology.
SITA opened its first telecommunications centre in Rome in 1949. Information was manually transmitted using perforated tape and teleprinters. This was the 'first generation' of the network. The 'second generation' SITA High-Level Network (HLN) became operational in 1969, handling data traffic in real time via a message-switched network over common carrierleased lines.[5][6] It was organised to act like a packet-switching network.[7] The 'third generation' Data Transport Network adopted X.25 in 1981, providing global coverage and becoming the world's "largest" public data network.[8][9]
Expansion
In 1989 computer reservations systems, aerospace manufacturers, tour operators, airfreight forwarders, airport authorities, and other organizations in the air transport industry began joining SITA as members.[8] The company today provides infrastructure and communication services for the air transport industry, having evolved from its early days of providing only network-related services.
SITA presently operates in over two hundred countries and territories, and its customers include airlines, airports, airfreight— international freight forwarders, travel and distribution— global distribution systems, governments, aerospace, ground handlers and air traffic control.[4]
SITA is owned by members of the air transport industry, who make up the SITA Board and SITA Council. The company has the remit of working with the air transport community for the benefit of all members.[citation needed] This includes cooperation with industry bodies, such as IATA, ACI and regional associations, aiming to solve common industry issues through the use of IT and telecommunication services, through development of community systems, industry standards and shared infrastructures for aviation. SITA also produces industry surveys including the Air Transport IT Insights, Passenger IT Insights, as well as working jointly with IATA on the industry’s Baggage Report.
SITA FOR AIRCRAFT
Launched in 2005 as OnAir, SITA FOR AIRCRAFT today provides Digital Day of Operations, Cabin Connectivity Services, and Unified Aircraft Communication.[clarification needed] OnAir combined with SITA's Aircraft business in 2015 and is now SITA FOR AIRCRAFT but was previously known as SITAONAIR.[11]
Subsidiaries
CHAMP Cargosystems
CHAMP became a fully owned SITA subsidiary at the start of 2022, as an IT company working solely in the air cargo industry, providing services for carriers and distributors. In November 2011, CHAMP acquired TRAXON Europe, an electronic air cargo company, in order to prepare for new International Air Transport Association (IATA) initiatives such as IATA e-freight and Cargo iQ.[12]
Aviareto
Aviareto is a joint venture between SITA and the Irish government. Aviareto and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the Supervisory Authority of the International Registry, agreed that Aviareto would establish and operate the International Registry of Mobile Assets.[13]
Airport operations, including total airport management, safety and security
Aircraft operations, including operational communications, e-Aircraft services * e.g. for EFBs), and in-flight communications
Baggage processing
Cargo operations
Communications & data exchange
Passenger processing
Border management
SITA's shared infrastructures include systems for passenger processing.
support to the MSNISP: Their internal communication network ( SITA-NET, IP range 57.0.0.0/8 ) was rendered publicly accessible for years by MSN (The Microsoft Network) ISP through the 800 (call for free) phone number which the users were to use to register an MSN account. The IP address which was assigned to the user during the MSN sign-up process was part of the SITA-NET.
First augmented reality application for an airline
Managing passenger flow at airports through geo-localization
In-flight mobile portal developed with OnAir
World's smallest full-function check-in kiosk
CUPPS (Common Use Passenger Processing System) technology, a replacement for the CUTE (Common Use Terminal Equipment) check-in and boarding standard used today. SITA worked with IATA and other bodies to introduce this capability, which will save the air transport industry millions of dollars.[15]
SITA works with business partner Orange Business Services on joint projects, and is also involved with the industry research programs e-Cab, Total Airport, SWIM, and SESAR. Additionally, the company focuses on institutional and academic research through teams at MIT, Cambridge and Montreal Universities.[citation needed]
Security breaches
Raúl Barragán is considered the fist Argentine hacker for invading SITA telex system on the 70s while working for Aerolíneas Argentinas. In 1979, he was fired from the company, and from there on, he made a living by selling first class passages in the black market. Raúl has demonstrated his modus operandi to the Argentine Federal Police using a telex from Interpol, and showed several flaws from SITA's system that he used to explore.[16][17] Raúl was arrested in May 1994 for suposedly selling passages for the Argentine band Los Pericos.[18] It is not known how much money he got, but it is estimated he generated from 5 to 10 thousand passages, profiting about 5 million dollars.[16] According to Fernando Bonsembiante and Raquel Roberti, because of his actions, in 1983 SITA changed all their codes, imposed verification messages and decided to end clearing operations every 32 days.[19]
On 24 February 2021, Star Alliance data stored on SITA's US servers were stolen in a cyberattack. The affected companies were Malaysia Airlines, Finnair, Jeju Air, Cathay Pacific, Air New Zealand, Lufthansa, United Airlines and others. Singapore Airlines announced half a million membership number and tier status were compromised. [20] Three months later, Air India announced that names, credit card details, date of birth, contact information, passport information, ticket information, Star Alliance and Air India frequent flyer data from 4.5 million passengers was stolen on the incident.[21]
↑ Chretien, G.J.; Konig, W.M.; Rech, J.H. (1973). "The SITA Network". Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Study Institute on Computer Communication Networks. Sussex, United Kingdom: Noordhoff International Publishing. pp.373–396. Archived from the original on 2013-10-20.
↑ Roberts, Dr. Lawrence G. (November 1978). "The Evolution of Packet Switching". Archived from the original on 24 March 2016. Retrieved 5 September 2017. Almost immediately after the 1965 meeting, Donald Davies conceived of the details of a store-and-forward packet switching system
↑ Roberts, Dr. Lawrence G. (November 1978). "The Evolution of Packet Switching". Archived from the original on 24 March 2016. Retrieved 5 September 2017. Almost immediately after the 1965 meeting, Donald Davies conceived of the details of a store-and-forward packet switching system
1 2 "SITA History". About SITA > What we do. SITA. Archived from the original on 19 August 2012. Retrieved 16 August 2012.
↑ Rybczynski, Tony (2009). "Commercialization of packet switching (1975–1985): A Canadian perspective [History of Communications]". IEEE Communications Magazine. 47 (12): 26–31. doi:10.1109/MCOM.2009.5350364. S2CID23243636.
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