The Airport Show 2012, one of the leading B2B events devoted exclusively to airport construction, operations, technology and services, opened its doors on Tuesday in Dubai.

Billed as the world’s most dynamic airport show, the event features a wide line up of innovative technology products and services from 210 companies from 32 countries, including China, Denmark, France, Germany, Swiss and the UK which have set up dedicated pavilions.

Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, the president of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority (DCAA) and chairman of Dubai Airports, inaugurated the 12th edition of the star event in the presence of world’s leading aviation companies.

Accompanied by top-ranking officials, including the chief executives of regional airports, civil aviation authorities and aviation companies, Sheikh Ahmed, also the chairman and CEO of Emirates Airline and Group, toured the three-day event hosted over an exhibition space of 10,302 sq m in Sheikh Saeed Hall (1, 2 and 3) of the expo hall.

Mohammed Ahli, the director general of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, Jamal Al Hai, senior executive VP for International Affairs at Dubai Airports, Khalifa Al Zafeen, the CEO of Dubai Aviation City Authority and Rashid Buqara'a, COO of Dubai Aviation City Corporation also joined him.

Kuwait was represented by a four-member delegation led by Fawaz Abdulaziz AlFarah, the director general of Kuwait Civil Aviation. Top aviation officials from Saudi, Oman, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan and Qatar were also present at the show.

With their eyes set on tapping the huge business prospects offered by the multi-million dollar expansions of airports in the Middle East region in general and GCC states in particular, the world’s leading aviation companies have made a significant presence at the event, said event organisers Reed Exhibitions Middle East.

More than 5000 visitors from the aviation and other economic sectors are expected to attend the show over the three-day period, they added.

Mohammed Ahli formally opened the seminars programme and highlighted the importance of updating knowledge and skills for the aviation industry professionals in order to achieve excellence in every sphere of operations.

A total of 25 presentations on new projects and initiatives along with latest innovation and technology will be conducted during the event.

On the opening day, six seminars were conducted, covering topics like The World’s First Mobile Passenger Terminal,  Integrated Airport Systems, King Hussein International Airport, Multi-Purpose Airport Sweeper and Cavotec E3 Gate.

The giant expo is supported by industry associations and local government authorities – Dubai Airports, Dubai Aviation Engineering Projects, Netherlands Airport Technologies, German Airport Technology and Equipment, British Aviation Group, UBIFrance, British Airport Services and Equipment Association, Danish Airport Group and Dnata.

It features many of the leading local and international companies in the airport industry like Kronenburg, Dar Al Handasah, Airbus Prosky, Al Jaber LEGT Engineering & Contracting, Honeywell, Siemens, ADPI and Munich Airport.

This year’s edition is seeing Germany having the largest pavilion in terms of size and number of participating companies in the past three years.

This year's Hosted Buyers Programme will see the participation of as many as 43 key airport and civil aviation decision-makers from 13 countries in the Middle East and South Asia.

The Hosted Buyers are from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Turkey, Djibouti, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Tunisia, Egypt, Algeria and Jordan in addition to the hosting country, UAE.

For the first time, the organisers have introduced a Project Village which gathers all hosted buyers stands at a prime location at the exhibition venue. Hosted Buyers will have the opportunity to present their projects at the Project Seminar giving attendees valuable insights into the regions industry outlook.
 
Mohamad Bader-Eddin, show director at Reed Exhibitions Middle East, said: “We have successfully put together a great show this year. We would like to thank both the government and private sectors for their invaluable support and cooperation in making it a successful event.'

'The aviation industry in general and airports sector in particular is showing signs of strong growth in this region and how the aviation industry players from near and far are out to tap the business opportunities,' he noted.

“With billions of dollars planned to be pumped into the capacity expansion of airports in the GCC region, the Airport Show provides the global aviation industry players the opportunity to enhance their businesses by tapping into the unlimited growth potential of markets like the UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait,' remarked Bader-Eddin.

'The GCC region holds immense hope to the global aviation industry with its airports expansion programme and the Airport Show has proved once again that it is the ideal platform to bring the buyers and sellers under one roof,' he added.-TradeArabia News Service