H.E. Khalifa Al Zaffin opens 4th Global Airport Leaders’ Forum (GALF) in Dubai

By 2020, aviation industry will contribute 32 per cent to Dubai’s GDP

Two-day forum to discuss global aviation trends and challenges

His Excellency Eng. Khalifa Al Zaffin, Executive Chairman of Dubai Aviation City Corporation, today (Tuesday) opened the 4th edition of the Global Airport Leaders’ Forum (GALF) at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre (DICEC) with a call to the aviation industry to be a part of the economic prosperity amid unprecedented growth being witnessed in aviation.

The two-day forum is co-located with the 16^th Airport Show which runs until May 11 at DICEC, with the participation of over 300 exhibitors from 55 countries.

In his keynote address, H.E. Eng. Khalifa Al Zaffin said that aviation sector is expected to contribute over 32 per cent to Dubai’s GDP by 2020, and with the rapid growth taking place in the sector, the emirate is actively implementing its plans to effectively and efficiency handle the growth, while creating economic prosperity for all.

His Excellency said Dubai is guided by the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE’s Vice-President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, who has said that we are not building the largest airport in the world, we are building the aviation capital of the world.

“Dubai is an aviation hub and the busiest airport in the world by international passengers. We are witnessing an unprecedented growth in passenger numbers, to cope up with which Dubai has chalked out a strategy to continue with the growth in aviation and drive Dubai’s economic prosperity. Growth of logistics and aviation is integral to Dubai’s economic strength and in developing Dubai South, we are building an integrated airport city, which will have a significant contribution in the economic growth,” he said.

He explained how the Dubai South is the master planned urban destination of eight districts -the Exhibition District, Aviation District, Logistics District, Commercial District, Golf District, Residential District, Business Park and the Al Maktoum International Airport, which will carry 220 million passengers and 120 million tonnes of cargo annually.

The government is focused on building infrastructure to provide seamless connectivity around the AMIA, he said.

The opening day of the GALF had sessions on global aviation trends, future of aviation industry in the next decade, creating optimal value for money from aviation infrastructure by ensuring best in class performance, growing capacity without building new terminals, developing passenger experience through application of technology, future proofing airport design and securing ongoing investment for expansion and development.

GALF will act as an industry think-tank to generate solutions, drive improvement and innovation to overcome any kind of potential business growth challenges you might face for continued airport expansion and passenger satisfaction. Over 35 airport industry experts and thought-leaders from various parts of the world are scheduled to address the forum on a variety of topics of interest to the industry.

Daniyal Qureshi, Group Exhibition Director, Reed Exhibitions, said: “The two-day forum aims to enrich aviation professionals with knowledge about how the aviation industry is evolving in the 21st century and strategies and business models to navigate the changing landscape. Given the strong growth of the regional aviation industry and the security challenges posed by the significant increase in passengers, decision-makers, experts and aviation industry professionals will immensely benefit from knowledge sharing on this platform that brings international experts together.”