Biggest Airport Show in history ready to take off in Dubai tomorrow!

Sheikh Ahmed:  Airport Show reflects aviation industry’s growth

Blockbuster B2B platform features 300+ exhibitors

55 countries represented at the three-day show

150 hosted buyers from 30 countries

Over 7000 industry professionals expected to attend

The 16^th edition of the Airport Show gets underway in Dubai from May 9 to 11 at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre (DICEC) with more than 300 companies from 55 countries showcasing a diverse portfolio of technologies and innovative solutions amid rapidly growing Middle East aviation industry and massive regional aviation infrastructure investments.

The three-day Airport Show, which is the world’s largest annual airport event, is being held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, Chairman of Dubai Airports and Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates Airlines and Group.

Reed Exhibitions, the organisers for the show, expect more than 7,000 aviation industry professionals to attend the show, which will be spread over 15,000 square metres of gross exhibition space in Zabeel Halls 4, 5 and 6, this year.

The world’s top-league airport industry B2B event has the 4^th edition of the Global Airport Leaders’ Forum (GALF) and 3^rd edition of World Travel Catering and Onboard Services Expo Middle East (WTCEME) as co-located events.

The 16^th edition of the Airport Show is supported by Dubai Civil Aviation Authority (DCAA), Dubai Airports, Dubai Aviation Engineering Projects (DAEP), Dubai Air Navigation Services (dans), dnata and Women in Aviation Middle East Chapter, amongst a host of leading regional and international associations backing the event.

 Strong backing has come from companies and trade bodies like German Airport Technology and Equipment (GATE), Danish Airport Group, British Aviation Group, British Airport Services and Equipment Association, Swiss Airport Suppliers, Swiss Aerospace Cluster, SACE, Netherlands Aerospace Group, UBIFRANCE, UAE Contractors’ Association and Supply Chain and Logistics Group (SCLG) of Middle East.

The gold sponsors include emaratech and Bond Group, while other major sponsors include NEC, Boeing, DTP and Strata.

Sheikh Ahmed said:

“The Middle East continues its impressive double-digit growth and has embarked on a massive airport expansion and development programme that is having a positive economic impact throughout the region. Airport development continues to play an important role in our strategic plans, creating thousands of new jobs and providing an engine of economic growth vital to the growth of Dubai.”

“The show will provide an invaluable opportunity to view the latest global technologies and best practices and create new opportunities for our industry to collaborate,” he added. 

Daniyal Qureshi, Group Exhibition Director, Reed Exhibitions Middle East, organisers of Airport Show, said: “The Airport Show 2016 will be the strongest on several fronts, it will showcase world’s latest technologies in aviation, facilitate knowledge-sharing, in addition to being a unique meeting point for global experts. The tremendous response from international aviation industry players to participate in the Airport Show clearly reflects their keenness to tap into the growing opportunities in the Middle East and meets the requirements of regional decision-makers to source their requirements at their doorsteps.”

The show has recorded a 30 per cent growth in participants for the Business Connect programme with an all-time high participation of 154 buyers. The Business Connect progrmame, which has a track record of delivering unparalleled business opportunities for international suppliers through a number of dedicated pre-scheduled meetings programmes, has been showing consistent growth each passing year.

“Airport Show 2015 hosted 2,900 pre-arranged meetings between hosted buyers and exhibitors and this year we are confident of breaking the record with over 3,500 pre-scheduled on site meetings,” added Qureshi.

The Business Connect programme this year will feature Airport Business Connect, a unique matchmaking programme facilitating over 2,000 pre-scheduled meetings for exhibitors with key officials from regional airport authorities and contractors of mega airport developments across the Middle East; Africa Business Connect, dedicated to African aviation officials, from over 15 countries, to meet with Airport Show exhibitors and source suppliers for the African continent’s most ambitious airport developments and Air traffic Control Business Connect, which will host over 50 officials from regional Civil Aviation Authorities and ANSPs – facilitating business for exhibitors through over 500 pre-scheduled meetings with key Air Traffic Management officials during the event.

This year’s show will see buyers from Algeria, Armenia, Bahrain, Botswana, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Tanzania, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda, Zimbabwe and the host country, UAE.

The 16th edition of the Airport Show will have a strong international representation with six dedicated country pavilions, with around 100 exhibitors, for global participants to showcase and launch their products, services and solutions.

Germany will have the largest participation with more than 40 exhibitors showcasing in the exclusive Germany Pavilion, in addition to five pavilions dedicated to aviation players from France, Switzerland, UK, China and North America. The Germany Pavilion will be the biggest in terms of exhibitors – a total of 40 companies including 7 new ones. The French Pavilion, which made its first appearance at the Airport Show eight years ago, will feature 14 exhibitors, the Swiss and UK pavilions will have 12 exhibitors each this year while there will be eight exhibitors in the North America Pavilion and six in the China Pavilion.

Among the key attractions will be the free to attend Innovation Podium wherein more than 35 seminars will be conducted by industry experts on a variety of latest technologies and innovations as well as exclusive insights into some of the region’s airport developments. The Podium provides companies the opportunity to launch products, demonstrate their capabilities, offer system solutions and share best practices.

As a co-located event, the 4^th edition of Global Airport Leaders’ Forum (GALF), which will be held on May 10 and 11, will have more than 40 renowned international aviation leaders and experts sharing their professional insights, experiences and future perspectives on the aviation industry and its challenges.

The forum will witness brain storming sessions on key industry issues such as open skies, oil price volatility, how the industry will develop over the next decade, next generation passengers, safety and security issues, strategies to enhance passenger capacity, market overcrowding, new project reviews and opportunities, securing ongoing finance and investment for expansion, developing the low cost carrier market and  also present aviation trends overview, a review of major airport projects in KSA, opportunities in aviation with a focus on the UAE and economic outlook and strategies to help stakeholders effectively deal with the rising number of passengers, estimated to cross 7 billion by 2034.

In its 3^rd edition, the World Travel Catering and Onboard Services Expo Middle East (WTCEME), will have exhibitors from the UAE, Spain, UK, India, China, Srilanka, Bahrain, Canada, Italy, Belgium, Saudi Arabia, France, Malaysia, Turkey, Egypt and The Netherlands, who will showcase a wide range of travel catering services and solutions, including food, snacks, beverages, food packaging, processing, preparation and preservation equipment, tableware and chinaware, accessories, toiletries and travel amenities.

50 buyers from 14 countries representing 23 authorities will participate in WTCEME’s Hosted Buyers Programme this year, designed to facilitate meetings between key regional buyers and exhibitors at the show.

The newly branded WCTEME expects over 1,500 trade visitors this year from all the major airlines, airports and related aviation catering businesses in the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia region.