As global travel sputters to a start, air transport technology network, SITA is rolling out a solution for contact tracers to quickly find and notify potentially COVID-exposed passengers.

Displaying aeroplane seating charts to contact tracers, the software helps identify potentially exposed airline crews and passengers by pinpointing travellers who booked tickets with, or sat in proximity to, a person diagnosed with COVID-19.

“We integrated Rosette name matching from Basis Technology into our SITA Intelligence and Targeting border management system a few years ago. It gave us better results out of the box and was quicker to deploy with a lower cost of ownership,” said Ricardo Letosa, senior product manager at SITA. “There was no question we would use Rosette for contact tracing as well because you don’t check into a hospital with your passport number. When you have no common identifiers between health and travel records besides name and date of birth, you have to go with the best name matching you can get.

“We are thrilled to be part of SITA’s response to COVID-19. The airline industry has been hit hard, and we hope this software will help world governments reopen their borders and make air travellers feel safe again,” said Carl Hoffman, CEO of Basis Technology. “Contact tracing is an important tool to contain the spread of COVID-19 as countries reopen. It is vital that we give the contact tracers every possible tool to be successful.”

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