As of Thursday, 12 October 2006, "Checky" has been officially in operation at Geneva International Airport. "Checky" is the name given to the CUSS (Common Use Self-Service) system enabling passengers to check in themselves and their luggage using automatic kiosks shared by most of the airlines.
For decades, people checked in at desks shared by all the airlines, but operated by one handling agent. When the first automatic check-in kiosks appeared, some airlines wanted to develop their own systems. These "dedicated" kiosks could be used most of the time only by certain customers.
Now, it is unification time. Geneva International Airport has taken a pioneering step in this approach, the aim being to achieve more flexible check-in hall management, thus improving passenger flow and hence the passenger experience. To that end, Geneva International Airport introduced CUTE (Common Use Terminal Equipment) in 2003, a computerised interface enabling any airline system to use the check-in counters.
With CUSS, passengers will be able to check in themselves and their baggage, and in some cases have their travel document (passport) read optically at any of the 16 kiosks currently installed. With smoother management of check-in operations, it will be possible to improve total capacity at peak periods in particular, and thus also make it more convenient for passengers, who will no longer have to put up with long queues.
To ensure that this complex operation is a success, Geneva International Airport has joined a steering committee with the International Air transport Association (IATA), and also the international aeronautical telecommunications company SITA, headquartered in Geneva. A working party in which the Airport is joined by the handling agents and the airlines has been tracking the development of the CUSS, one of the very first to become operational.
Flyer 'Checky' - fichier pdf 0.2 MoAt the time of its introduction, the CUSS is servicing Swiss, Lufthansa, Austrian and LOT, soon to be joined by British Airways and KLM.
Geneva International Airport will provide qualified staff to familiarise people with "Checky" and to help those who will be using it for the first time.
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