SITA develops new boarding pass technology for airlines

TIN news:    Air transport communications specialist SITA has developed a new application programming interface (API) that enables airlines to offer passengers an option to use Android smartwatches as boarding passes.
 
With the new API, passengers can board their flight with a simple smartwatch scan.
 
The company is providing boarding passes for Android watches through its new API, which is available on developer.aero platform.
"This is the first step to enable passengers to use their own wearable devices as they make their way through the airport."
 
The passengers can get flight information by a simple alert through Android Wear technology.
 
SITA CTO Jim Peters said: "We have done considerable research into the use of wearable technology for the air transport industry and this is the first step to enable passengers to use their own wearable devices as they make their way through the airport.
 
"SITA's boarding pass is fully compliant with international regulations, including the TSA, so it can be used at airports across the world. We have made this available through our industry API platform, so it will be interesting to see which airlines will be the early adopters."
 
A selection of APIs will be offered by the company for airlines and airports on its developer.aero platform, including ones for beacons, baggage tracking and iTravel.
 
According to SITA, major airlines such as JetBlue and Virgin Atlantic are already using the company's API boarding pass.