Nats, a leading air traffic management company, is hosting an exclusive knowledge-sharing forum in Doha (Qatar) today (April 29), focused on preparing the aviation sector for major sporting events.

The invite-only event provides senior decision and policy makers within Qatar’s defence and transport sectors the opportunity to hear first-hand how the UK prepared its aviation sector to ensure a safe, efficient, and successful Olympic Games in 2012.

Participating guests will include the UK’s Ambassador to Qatar, Nicholas Hopton, as well as Qatar Airways general CEO, Akbar Al Baker, who will close proceedings with a short speech.

Commenting on the upcoming event, Richard Deakin, CEO, Nats, said, “The forum in Qatar will provide a unique opportunity to share the extensive knowledge and experience gained throughout the four years of rigorous planning, and more than four weeks of delivery during the games in 2012. Working hand in hand with the military, the airports and airlines, Nats was able to not only support a successful games, but also deliver the lowest summer delay performance in our history,” Richard Deakin, CEO, Nats, said in a statement.

The event is part of Nats’ ongoing support of Qatar and the wider Middle Eastern region, reinforcing the inherent need to encourage collaboration between civil and military authorities, airports, airlines, and air traffic control, the statement said.

Key speakers at the forum include:

• Paul Nickson, head of arrivals and departures for the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG), and currently director responsible for Customer Journey design and implementation at Britain’s largest Utility provider;
• Nick Cole, head of the 2012 Games for Heathrow Airport, and currently a senior operations manager with Oman Airports Management Company and an International Olympic Committee (IOC) ambassador
• Wing Commander Jonathan Whitworth, officer commanding RAF Swanwick, from where the Olympics security operation was led
• Jonathan Astill, currently Nats director of international affairs, and GM of the Swanwick Air Traffic Control centre during the games

Nats opened its Middle East and North Africa region headquarters in October 2014, with a permanent office in the DMCC Free Zone in Dubai, UAE. The organisation has an impressive track record operating in the Middle East, having been contracted to design the terminal airspace around Al Maktoum International Airport prior to its opening. – TradeArabia News Service