DOHA: Hamad International Airport (HIA) in cooperation with International Air Transport Association (IATA) has implemented the IATA Simplified Invoicing and Settlement (SIS) platform. It is an electronic invoicing system that streamlines the air transport industry’s billing and settlement activities by optimising and reducing the cost of back-office processes, unifying invoicing standards and reducing paper waste and ultimately fostering a simpler and more efficient environment for airlines and aviation business partners.

Since the implementation of the SIS platform, HIA has billed 46 invoices per month for 23 airlines as well as billed a total revenue of QR150m per year with a significant cost saving of 2 percent per year. HIA’s migration to the SIS platform sets to adhere to the latest invoice data standards for the aviation industry and will see a significant reduction of manual labour and paper-driven activities such as invoicing and dispute handling as well as delivering tangible financial benefits to the industry.

It will also eliminate unnecessary paperwork, mail charges and courier fees as well as mitigate the risks related to lost documents and internal paper handling as well as improve control over cash flows, as data is being directly linked to the payable systems of airlines.

With the SIS platform, HIA’s next step is to integrate full automation of the billing and settlement system through the IATA Clearing House (ICH) which will help in providing settlement services for the airport. The ICH enables the world’s airlines and industry suppliers to settle their passenger, cargo, non-transportation billings by applying the principles of off-set and netting. The ICH also offers protection in the event of a payment default and/or bankruptcy.

Sujata Suri, Vice President Strategy and Development stated: “HIA’s integration to the SIS platform is a great step towards achieving full automation of the airports billing for all invoiced trade. This will considerably speed up time spent on billing and settlement as well as document management processes. Using the SIS platform is part of HIA’s strong commitment to environmental excellence and responsible business practices.”

Aleks Popovich, IATA’s Senior Vice President, Financial and Distribution Services said:  “Congratulations to Hamad International Airport for implementing IATA’s Simplified Invoicing and Settlement (SIS) Platform. Hamad joins a network of some 2,500 airlines, suppliers, airports and other transport providers that have adopted SIS for its efficiency and cost savings. SIS will also support Hamad International Airport in achieving its ambitious environmental program through the reduction of paper-based billing and settlement activities”.

SIS is the aviation industry’s electronic invoicing service provided by IATA. Since its inception, more than 1500 airlines and air operators have joined the SIS network. Via the SIS platform, an operator can submit a single electronic billing file that then is converted into an invoice and a settlement file which will help to avoid record duplication and improve efficiency by integrating a unified e-invoicing standard (IS-XML). The platform also enables the participant to choose from options such as automated invoice validation and offers a variety of other beneficial functions.

HIA is strongly committed to its environmental protection strategy as well as minimising the consumption of natural resources, control emissions and manage waste carefully. Together with Qatar Airways, Qatar Aviation Services (QAS), Qatar Aviation Catering Company (QACC), Qatar Duty Free (QDF) and the Airport Hotel, HIA is committed to achieving lower and more efficient greenhouse gas emissions to help tackle climate change, reduce, re-use and recycle waste, manage noise and control emissions to air and water to reduce impact on the local environment wherever they operate. It is also committed to supporting conservation and consume energy, water and materials efficiently to help protect natural resources.

HIA is a state-of-the-art airport with a strong focus on technology-enabled innovation, as per their respective Smart Airport vision. The provision of the SIS platform will greatly benefit the airport as well as the aviation industry.