Common-Use Passenger Processing & Self-Service (CUPPS · CUSS) installations at Zayed International Airport (AUH)

Common-Use Passenger Processing Systems (CUPPS) and Common-Use Self-Service (CUSS) let multiple airlines share the same check-in desks, kiosks, bag-drop units and boarding gates instead of dedicating hardware per carrier — the economics that let a terminal flex with traffic. The category spans virtualised and cloud common-use platforms (vMUSE-class), self-service check-in and ticketing kiosks, automated and auto-tag self-bag-drop, and self-boarding gates, with the orchestration software that connects each airline's DCS to shared physical positions. It is the passenger-touchpoint counterpart to the operations brain.

Renamed in 2024 in honour of the UAE's founding father, Zayed International announced itself to the world with Terminal A — a sculptural, light-flooded building the size of 27 football pitches, opened the same year. Home to Etihad's Greenliner fleet, the airport is Abu Dhabi's statement that capital-of-culture ambitions demand capital-of-aviation infrastructure. Passenger volumes surged to 28.8 million in 2024 as Etihad accelerated a 170-aircraft fleet plan.