Ahmed bin Saeed opens world’s largest annual airport show

Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority and Chairman of Emirates Group on Sunday opened the 15th Airport Show, the world's largest annual airport event, which attracted over 300 exhibitors from 40 countries for the three-day run at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre (DICEC).

"It is an excellent show which has grown each passing year, very much reflecting the expansion of our aviation industry. We see a bright future for the aviation industry in the coming years," he said at the end of his tour of the show, spread over 12000 square metres in three halls of Dubai's iconic MICE facility.

After cutting the ceremonial ribbon, Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed, accompanied by top-tier Emirati government officials, diplomats, businessmen and other dignitaries, started the tour by a visit to the stand of Dubai Aviation Engineering Projects (DAEP) where a giant model of Dubai World Central (DWC) is on display, offering rich perspectives about the multi-billion dirhams project which, on its full completion, will be the world's biggest airport with a capacity to handle 220 million passengers.

He was accompanied by Mohammed Abdulla Ahli, Director General of DCAA, Eng. Khalifa Al Zaffin, Executive Chairman of Dubai Aviation City Corporation, Jamal Al Hai, Deputy CEO of Dubai Airports, Helal Al Marri, Director General of Dubai Tourism and CEO of Dubai World Trade Centre, and Ibrahim Ahli, Senior Vice President of DANS, among others. Also on hand were senior representatives of Reed Exhibitions Middle East, organisers of the Airport Show, GALF and TCE, including Frederic Theux, President, Ara Fernazian, Divisional Managing Director, and Daniyal Qureshi, Group Exhibition Director.

After touring the stalls put up by exhibitors, including those in the country pavilions put by Germany, Italy, Switzerland, United Kingdom, France and North America (US and Canada), Sheikh Ahmed and his entourage visited the Travel Catering Expo (TCE), which in its second edition as a co-located event attracted about 50 exhibitors.

At several stalls, he took time to speak to the officials and showed keen interest in new technologies and solutions kept on display.

The 15th edition of Airport Show, which also has as a co-located event, Global Airport Leaders' Forum (GALF) which is opening tomorrow, is expected to attract 8000 industry professionals from the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia (MENASA) region.

Held under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, the event is supported by Dubai Civil Aviation Authority (DCAA), Dubai Airports, Dubai Aviation Engineering Projects (DAEP), Dubai Air Navigation Services (DANS) and dnata, among others.

It has been supported by German Airport Technology and Equipment (GATE), Danish Airport Group, British Aviation Group, British Airport Services and Equipment Association, Swiss Airport Suppliers, Netherlands Airport Technology, UBIFRANCE, UAE Society of Engineers and UAE Contractors' Association. The sponsors include emaratech, LG, KIDS, Rotana Hotel, Padiglione Italia, Ajman International Airport and DTP.

Sheikh Ahmed said, "The aviation industry is growing exponentially due to the massive airport expansions needed to accommodate the growth in air traffic and airport development in Dubai continues to play a strategic role in our future growth agenda. The huge and consistent aviation investments will have a positive impact not just for Dubai alone but for the UAE, Gulf region and the world."

Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed added, "The Airport Show provides an opportunity to experience the latest aviation technologies and innovations. These events will contribute to our combined efforts towards the sustained growth of the global aviation industry."

Daniyal Qureshi, Group Exhibition Director at Reed Exhibitions Middle East, said that the three-in-one show has been a resounding success in every aspect and proves beyond doubt the importance of the MENASA region for the aviation industry stakeholders from across the world.

The show has attracted 127 hosted buyers this year, a 38 per cent increase over the previous edition and the highest since the Hosted Buyers programme was launched for the first time in 2009. As many as 53 civil aviation authorities, airlines and other aviation-related bodies are represented in the programme which recorded a - participating in the B2B networking initiative this year, up by 55 per cent from last year.

This year, a ‘Meet the Buyer' programme has been introduced for the Ground Handling, Air Traffic Management (ATM) and Aviation Security segments.

Key attractions at the show include Airport Connect, a pre-event business matchmaking service for buyers and sellers, Airport Projects Showcase and Innovation Podium where free seminars will be conducted by industry experts on latest technologies and innovations.

The Podium provides companies the opportunity to launch products, demonstrate their capabilities and share best practices. It has a line-up of 30 speakers representing the top names in the business.

A total of 102 exhibitors are participating in the six country pavilions and utilising the platform to reach out to the regional markets with their latest technologies and services across a broad spectrum of aviation specialisations. An all-time high of about 50 new technologies, systems and solutions have been unveiled by the exhibitors.

At the Travel Catering Expo (TCE), as many as 50 exhibitors from various countries, including the new comers, India, Kuwait, Kenya, Lithuania, Malaysia, Malawi, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Switzerland and Thailand, are showcasing their line-up of products, solutions and services for the fast-expanding travel catering business in the region.

This year's Expo is expected to attract 2000 trade visitors from over 20 countries. Key features of TCE include TCE Business Connect, a dedicated programme to connect buyers and suppliers.

TCE's hosted buyers programme attracted over 36 participants and 19 authorities from 14 countries, including Bahrain, India, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Malawi, Mauritius, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Thailand and the UAE.

Now in its 15th year, the Airport Show is a key procurement platform for airport developments in the Middle East, Africa and Indian subcontinent. The event is co-located with the Global Airport Leaders' Forum (GALF) and Travel Catering Expo (TCE).
Source: WAM