Abu Dhabi will play host to the region's first Middle East Aviation Outlook Summit being staged by the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (Capa) on February 27.

The Capa outlook summit will bring together aviation experts from across the Middle East and Asia region to discuss the huge growth in the regional aviation sector.

Sponsored by Adac, the conference will discuss the latest trends in aviation and hear from experts on how the region might respond to record growth. 

The Middle East region grew the fastest gloablly last year with a 18.6 per cent jump and that trend is expected to continue into 2008 and beyond, said a top official.

'Throughout the Middle East the airport infrastructure projects have added up to more than $50 billion whilst carriers such as Etihad, Qatar and Emirates are leading the world in orders for new aircraft with orders for around 1,000 new aircraft emanating from the region worth more than $200 billion,' Chairman of Abu Dhabi Airport Company (ADAC), Khalifa M. Al Mazrouei said.

Abu Dhabi International Airport, the capital’s gateway, is already one of the fastest growing airports in the region.

The 1982-built airport grew from an opening capacity of 3.5 million passengers to 7 million in 2005, and is now poised for another boost to 12 million passengers when the third terminal becomes fully operational later this year.

“The event is a first for Abu Dhabi and Adac is pleased to welcome such a distinguished group of aviation experts to our city. Conferences like this will help build the profile of Abu Dhabi and its growing reputation as a conference venue. As ADAC seeks to grow the aviation industry in the Emirate the CAPA event will help put us on the map.'

Over 200 aviation experts from all over the world are taking part in the two-day conference being held at Beach Rotana Hotel & Towers in downtown Abu Dhabi. ADAC is hosting a gala dinner.-TradeArabia News Service