SINGAPORE, 24 May 2024: SITA, a global leader in technology solutions for the air transport industry, announced its acquisition of Materna IPS, a passenger handling specialist for airports and airlines, earlier this week.
Materna IPS’s portfolio allows airports to process more passengers and optimise resources to give travellers a better experience. They are market leaders in self-bag drop services with a customer base spanning North America, India, Europe, and Japan. Materna IPS offers best-in-class secure solutions for all passenger touchpoints, from check-in to baggage claim and boarding.
The move will strengthen SITA’s position in the aviation industry, creating a robust passenger portfolio for airports and digital travel.
With air traffic set to double by 2040, airports and airlines are grappling with the need to deliver smoother passenger experiences. SITA’s latest acquisition will allow the industry to transform airports from transit hubs to digital, personalised experiences for travellers worldwide.
“This is an exciting new era of travel! SITA’s biggest acquisition ever is about to change the landscape of the whole aviation industry,” said SITA CEO David Lavorel. “By combining our solutions and expertise, we’ll take the passenger journey and its operations to a dimension of efficiency never seen before. Airports and airlines will get the most innovative passenger handling solutions available.”
The integration will build on Materna IPS’s common-use check-in solutions at kiosks, counters, or online—multiple options for user-friendly self-bag drop and more. It will make a powerful combination with SITA’s portfolio of solutions, including biometrics, computer vision, digital travel, and airport operations management.
About SITA
SITA is the air transport industry’s IT provider, delivering solutions for airlines, airports, aircraft and governments. With around 2,500 customers, SITA’s solutions drive operational efficiencies at more than 1,000 airports while delivering the promise of connected aircraft to customers of over 18,000 aircraft globally. SITA also provides technology solutions that help more than 70 governments strike the balance of secure borders and seamless travel.
About Materna IPS
Materna IPS, is an international service provider for automated passenger handling for airlines and airports. Delivering kiosk check-in and self-bag drop hardware to software implementations as well as service delivery and maintenance, Materna IPS has huge expertise in this sector and a well-proven software portfolio that includes Common Use-based applications for kiosk, online check-in, self-bag drop and solutions for secure access and self-boarding. With over 150,000 daily bag drops and a leading number of installations, Materna IPS is the No 1 self-bag drop company.
