Bahrain Airport Services reaches SAP partnership deal

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Bahrain Airport Services (BAS), which plays a strategic role in managing the operations of Bahrain International Airport, yesterday signed a partnership with global technology giant SAP to digitally transform Bahrain’s aviation market amid the pandemic.

While COVID-19 has made a major impact on passenger travel, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) expects the Middle East to witness an annual growth of 4.4% in passenger flights until 2039.

Bahrain’s aviation recovery will be driven by the use of innovative technologies.

The global Smart Airports market is set to top $22.6 billion by 2025, according to the firm Report Linker.

In 2019, BAS handled 8.5 million passengers and 8 million baggage items, served 6.5 million in-flight meals, and managed 125,000 tons of freight.

Supporting aviation innovation, Bahrain Airport Services will digitally integrate six lines of business: ground operations, cargo, catering, aircraft engineering, learning and development, and an aircraft engineering training centre called Bahrain Aircraft Engineering Training Center (BAETC). “As part of Bahrain Airport Service’s goals for setting standards for high performance in aviation services, we needed full and real-time visibility on our operations and passengers,” said BAS Chief Executive Salman Al Mahmeed.

“Thanks to our digital transformation with SAP, we will seamlessly integrate our operations, talent and procurement to provide unparalleled ground services and exemplary passenger travelling experiences as passenger travel rebounds.” Under the agreement, BAS will deploy the SAP S/4HANA real-time business suite, the SuccessFactors human capital management suite for supporting the talent development of more than 3,000 staff and the SAP Ariba e-procurement and supply chain cloud solutions.

“Our digital transformation with Bahrain Airport Services will see the organisation provide a common digital platform for all departments, which can centralise data for enabling real-time decision-making, optimize costs, and support Bahraini talent development,” said Hassan Saleh, the newly appointed Managing Director, SAP Bahrain and Iraq.

“Overall, Bahrain Airport Services will be able to run with optimum security, reliability, and performance, and making Bahrain’s aviation sector more resilient.”