The acquisition will enable SITA to expand the use of OCCam across airlines worldwide, supporting its broader vision of creating an Intelligent Operations Control Center that integrates planning, monitoring and recovery functions.
According to SITA, disruption remains one of the aviation industry’s most significant operational challenges, costing airlines tens of billions of dollars annually. The OCCam platform was developed and refined within live airline operations and uses artificial intelligence to optimise disruption recovery processes.
AI disruption management targets operational recovery
When operational disruptions occur, OCCam simultaneously evaluates multiple factors, including aircraft availability, crew schedules, passenger itineraries and maintenance requirements. The platform then generates integrated recovery plans within minutes.
SITA stated that airlines currently using OCCam have achieved disruption cost reductions of up to 30%. For a mid-sized airline operating slightly more than 100 aircraft, disruption costs can range between US$70 million and US$80 million annually. A 25% to 30% reduction could translate into savings of US$20 million to US$30 million.
Unlike traditional systems that manage aircraft, crew and passenger recovery through separate sequential processes, OCCam evaluates all operational constraints simultaneously. This approach helps reduce rework and improves decision-making during irregular operations.
The platform also enables airlines to measure operational performance and quantify the financial impact of recovery decisions through continuous tracking and reporting.
SITA advances Intelligent Operations Control Center vision
David Lavorel, CEO of SITA, said: “Airlines have traditionally treated disruption as a fixed cost of doing business, but there is a clear opportunity to approach it differently. In an increasingly volatile and fast-moving environment, the ability to recover with the same agility becomes critical. The airlines that act on this first will recover faster, fly more, and protect more revenue than those that wait, and AI-enabled tools like OCCam are making that possible.”
SITA currently provides operational solutions such as SITA Mission Watch to more than 100 airline Operations Control Centers globally. The company has also expanded the deployment of AI-enabled solutions through products including SITA OptiFlight.
Following the acquisition, SITA plans to combine OCCam’s optimisation capabilities with its ongoing work in large language models and agent-based AI systems. The objective is to create tools capable of predicting disruptions earlier, automating routine recovery tasks and simplifying interactions with complex operational environments.
Yann Cabaret, CEO of SITA for Aircraft, said: “This is the first step towards a much bigger Intelligent Operations Control Center vision, one where planning, monitoring, and recovery come together in a single system. AI allows us to handle multiple constraints at once and tailor decisions to each airline in a way that was not possible before.”
Pau Collellmir, founder of Big Blue Analytics, added: “With SITA, we can take what we have built further. Reaching more airlines, faster, and turning advanced optimization into practical tools that help operations teams work smarter every day.”
The acquisition marks another step in the aviation sector’s adoption of artificial intelligence technologies designed to improve operational efficiency, strengthen resilience and reduce the financial impact of disruptions.
Tags: Pau Collellmir, Big Blue Analytics David Lavorel, SITA
