A new managed connectivity service, SITA Connect Fly, promises to provide airlines and the wider transport industry with a faster way to connect departure control systems and web applications directly to passenger-facing workstations.
(SITA, the Geneva-headquartered Société Internationale de Télécommunications Aéronautiques, should not be confused with South Africa’s State-IT agency, which uses the same acronym.)
The system is designed to improve check-in, boarding efficiency, and turnaround times. Built on VersaONE, Versa’s AI-powered platform, it uses global cloud gateways to connect through the nearest access point, aiming to optimise response times, reduce delays, and maintain bandwidth for critical systems.
“Airlines across the world are telling us the same thing: they need faster, more resilient systems to keep up with growing passenger volumes and increased cloud services,” says Martin Smillie, SITA SVP for communications and data exchange.
“SITA Connect Fly provides a managed secure connectivity service for pre-flight operations worldwide, helping reduce the risk of outages and keeping network and security policies consistent across airports. In practice, this means smoother check-in, more reliable boarding, and a less stressful journey for passengers.”
Kelly Ahuja, Versa CEO says: “As SITA’s technology partner, we are extremely gratified to be part of delivering this modernised network and security infrastructure using our VersaONE Universal SASE platform. Our innovations have enabled SITA to transform their managed services and be in a leading position to deliver flexibility and agility to their customers.”
SITA Connect Fly builds on SITA’s Community Connect DCS service, currently supporting check-in and boarding control in more than 400 locations worldwide. While this revamped managed service will bring benefits from its cloud native technology, SITA says it will still be cost-effective.
Versa’s unified networking and security technology underpins Connect Fly, which aims to deliver connectivity from any transport layer (ISP, MPLS, 4G/5G) to applications, regardless of location. This is intended to enable customers to connect from remote and regional airports and reduce the time needed to bring new operations online to just a few weeks.
The service includes full Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) options, combining cloud-delivered security with SD-WAN benefits to enhance protection while maintaining agility. It extends coverage to mobile endpoints, non-airport locations, and the wider travel industry.
Fully integrated with SITA’s common-use systems for check-in and self-service (CUTE and CUSS) and SITA Flex, SITA Connect Fly is designed to support real-time data processing across the wider SITA digital ecosystem. This is intended to help airlines and airports provide more connected, efficient, and reliable services for travellers.