The emergence of the low cost airline industry as a star industry in its own right, both globally and on the regional level in the Middle East and North Africa region, is the subject of the 'Low Cost Airlines World MENA' conference, taking place 3-5 November in Al Ain, UAE.

SITA, the specialist provider of IT solutions to airlines and airports, today said there is overwhelming evidence from passengers surveyed at six of the world's busiest airports across five continents, that self-service is fast becoming the norm for passengers from Atlanta to Moscow and that the main challenge to even broader adoption of 'do-it-yourself' travel management is baggage.

The SITA/Air Transport World Passenger Self-Service Survey takes an in-depth look at the attitudes and habits of a representative sample of the 232 million passengers who use the following leading international airports: Hartsfield-Jackson, Atlanta; Mumbai International; Charles de Gaulle, Paris; Moscow Domodedovo; Sao Paulo Guarulhos, Brazil; and Johannesburg. The data is extracted from interviews with 2,143 passengers conducted at the departure gates earlier this year.