SITA, working with Indicio and the Aruba Tourism Authority, today announced the implementation of seamless travel to Aruba through the use of verifiable digital credential technology. This innovation will soon allow travelers to Aruba to fulfill government immigration requirements before boarding their flight with their ‘ready-to-fly’ status being confirmed invisibly in the background.

Passengers arriving at Queen Beatrix International Airport can apply for their travel authorization using a simplified process that eliminates the need to manually enter information from paper travel documents. Using a Digital Travel Credential (DTC), passengers can consent to share any of their relevant data directly from their digital wallet on their mobile device to multiple entities across journeys, from the government at the port of entry to other touchpoints such as hotels or car rental.

The DTC, which follows the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) standards, facilitates a direct, trusted relationship between the passenger and the government of the country they are planning to visit when it comes to verifying identity. The technology enables a passenger to securely create a digital credential from their physical passport and for this credential to be held in their mobile wallet. This technology is built to ensure authenticity and integrity, and ownership can be automatically and repeatedly verified, thereby mitigating the risk of fraud.

A critical feature of the technology is that it puts passengers first, following privacy-by-design principles that give passengers complete control of their data and permitting them to consent to sharing data when needed. This will reassure passengers that no one has access to their data beyond the appropriate legal authorities.

The SITA DTC and its partnership with Indicio and the government of Aruba builds on extensive trials of verifiable digital credential technology in Aruba from 2021 onward to manage traveler health data from COVID testing and vaccination. The DTC follows open standards for decentralized identity technology and is built on Hyperledger Foundation open-source code for maximal interoperability.

Dangui Oduber, Aruba’s Minister of Tourism & Public Health, said: “The milestone that our island has reached with The Aruba Happy One Pass is a remarkable one within the future of seamless travel experiences. Innovation within the tourism industry has always been a focal point in our strategic vision and policy making. We are pleased that Aruba is part of this groundbreaking progress, ensuring quality and excellence for all of our visitors.” 2

Ronella Croes, CEO of Aruba Tourism Authority (ATA), said: “As a Caribbean destination with one of the highest return rates, Aruba continually strives to implement innovative technology in an effort to deliver an exceptional travel experience from the moment travelers leave their homes. Through the Aruba Happy One Pass program, traveling to and from Aruba has never been easier. We are thrilled to offer our guests a more streamlined process, showcasing Aruba’s innovation in the tourism industry.”

Jeremy Springall, SVP, SITA AT BORDERS, said: “The world of travel is becoming increasingly interconnected, where passengers are expected to share their identity each step of the way. Governments, airlines, and airports are increasingly seeing the benefit of a digital credential, which streamlines the identification process and still allows the passenger to better control their data using a medium they prefer: their mobile device. Working with Aruba and Indicio, we are excited to be leading the way to making digital travel a reality.”

Heather Dahl, CEO of Indicio, said: “A government-issued passport represents the highest form of identity assurance. What we’ve done is built a way to translate the trustworthiness of a passport into an equally trustworthy ICAO DTC type 1 digital credential – all without needing to store any personal data about the passenger outside the credential.”

Source: SITA

Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) has selected SITA to provide a carbon management platform to monitor data on carbon emissions across the airport environment, helping to track key performance indicators as the airport progresses towards its net zero carbon goal.

SITA’s carbon management platform, to be fully deployed by summer 2023, will collect and aggregate data on carbon emissions from a variety of sources within the airport. This will span scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions and include data from 29 participating business partners across the airport value chain, overseeing services such as ground handling, aircraft maintenance, air cargo logistics, and catering. The platform will provide accurate, clear, and customizable visualizations of this data, allowing HKIA greater efficiency and precision in its carbon reporting efforts.

HKIA, the busiest airport in the world for cargo and one of the busiest for passenger traffic, is home to one of the world’s largest terminal buildings. In 2012, the Airport Authority Hong Kong pledged to make HKIA the world’s greenest airport, reinforcing this goal in 2021 with the announcement of its 2050 Net Zero Carbon Pledge, a commitment to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050, with a midpoint target of a 55% absolute emissions reduction by 2035 (from a 2018 baseline).

Airport scope 1 and 2 emissions stem largely from fossil fuel energy consumed to operate the terminal building, vehicles, and equipment, while scope 3 emissions — indirect emissions originating from the airport’s value chain and business partners — are more difficult to track and represent a significant contributor to overall airport emissions. In the case of HKIA, airport business partners account for more than 50% of airport-wide ground emissions.

HKIA has adopted an airport-wide approach for carbon management, working collaboratively with business partners to set carbon reduction targets and implement measures to accelerate airport-wide carbon reduction. While HKIA already has an online emissions tracking system, it does not unify emissions data collected from the many sources active in the airport environment, requiring more time-consuming manual processes.

SITA’s solution, supported by leading net-zero technology partner Envision Digital, aggregates data streams from across the airport environment and participating business partners and consolidates these into a single customizable dashboard. Allowing the tracking of emissions data alongside key performance indicators towards HKIA’s Net Zero Carbon Pledge, the dashboard interface facilitates carbon performance tracking, providing the granularity to monitor individual emissions sources against specific targets. Having all available data in one place supports HKIA in aligning its carbon reporting to government and industry measurement standards such as ISO and complying with Airports Council International’s Airport Carbon Accreditation program for which mapping of greenhouse gas emissions is key.

Peter Lee, General Manager, Sustainability, Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK), said: “We are committed to achieving the HKIA 2050 Net Zero Carbon Pledge with our business partners. The development of this new Carbon Management System will provide comprehensive, accurate carbon emissions tracking against the long term target for both AAHK and each of our pledged business partners, and serves as a foundation for transparent reporting. We are pleased to have found a partner in SITA for this project, who have a firm understanding of the complexities of the airport environment and the ability to tailor their solution to suit our needs.”

Sumesh Patel, President, Asia Pacific, SITA, said: “As a certified CarbonNeutral® company currently setting emissions reduction targets aligned with the Science Based Targets initiative Net-Zero Standard, SITA has an unwavering commitment to meeting sustainability goals within our organization and facilitating such efforts across the air transport industry. We applaud HKIA’s proactive efforts towards a net zero goal, and we are proud to apply our expertise and familiarity with HKIA’s operating environment to support its sustainability goals with a precise, customizable, and efficient solution.”

Source: SITA

14^th March, 2023

Nairobi, Kenya: Rolls-Royce plc is delighted to announce the appointment of John Kelly to the position of President – Middle East, Türkiye and Africa (META), with immediate effect.

Before this role, John spent six years as Senior Vice President of Europe, the Middle East and Africa for the Group’s Civil Aerospace business.

John joined Rolls-Royce over twenty years ago, in 2001, as a graduate trainee in the Defence business. He rose to become a senior manager before joining Civil Aerospace.

In his new role, John will assume group-wide leadership and representation for the Group’s Civil Aerospace, Power Systems and Defence businesses across the META region, engaging with senior government and industry stakeholders.

Rolls-Royce develops and delivers complex power and propulsion solutions for safety-critical applications in the air, at sea and on land and employs over 150 people across Africa with an extensive reach across the region.

Rolls-Royce Civil Aerospace serves over 20 African airline customers across 15 countries. The company has over 50% market share in powering the African widebody aircraft market, with engines installed on over 80 widebody aircraft in service and another 30 on order. Since 2017, the company has supported the inception of three new airlines and delivered over 30 new aircraft. Rolls-Royce also powers a large proportion of the regional aircraft market, with over 95 aircraft in service.

Rolls-Royce Power Systems Africa provides world-class power solutions and complete life-cycle support and is headquartered in South Africa. The company supports Africa’s growing power generation, marine, rail and industrial sectors, providing vital power solutions to datacentres, mining, oil and gas, shipping, locomotive and agriculture companies across the continent.

Rolls-Royce Defence innovates power and propulsion solutions to meet operational requirements to protect, secure and explore. The company works closely with several African Governments, serving many defence forces.

John Kelly said: “Africa is the world’s second-most populous continent and on target to become the first to grow its economies solely through modern technologies and sustainable low-carbon energy sources. This rapidly developing and innovative region is vital to Rolls-Royce’s future. I will aim to ensure we build upon our foundations while supporting transformative economic growth, climate resilience and an energy transition that is right for Africa.

While we are renowned for excellence in civil aerospace, we will leverage opportunities for all the Rolls-Royce businesses, providing safety-critical power and propulsion solutions for Africa’s major infrastructure projects and industrial customers. Our technology can play a fundamental role in enabling the transition to a low carbon global economy.”

With bold ambitions for the future, John is committed to growing partnerships across Africa, reflecting Rolls-Royce’s core engineering and technological innovations.

About Rolls-Royce Holdings plc

1. Rolls-Royce develops and delivers complex power and propulsion solutions for safety-critical applications in the air, at sea and on land. Our products and service packages enable our customers to connect people, societies, cultures and economies together; they meet the growing need for power generation across multiple industries; and enable governments to equip their armed forces with the power required to protect their citizens.
2. Rolls-Royce has customers in more than 150 countries, comprising more than 400 airlines and leasing customers, 160 armed forces and navies, and more than 5,000 power and nuclear customers. We are committed to making our products compatible with net zero carbon emissions to meet customer demand for more sustainable solutions.
3. The annual underlying revenue was £12.69 billion in 2022, and the underlying operating profit was £652m.
4. Rolls-Royce Holdings plc is a publicly traded company (LSE: RR., ADR: RYCEY, LEI: 213800EC7997ZBLZJH69)

www.rolls-royce.com