Air traffic management in the Middle East has been a focal topic across the industry this year, with the announcement that Dubai International Airspace capacity increased 25 per cent upon completion of a restructuring project.

With airports in the UAE still expecting passenger traffic to continue its upwards trajectory to 90 million in 2018 at Dubai International Airport alone, air traffic in the region must continue to evolve to meet this demand.
 
Air traffic in the Middle East has grown 50 per cent in the past eight years, according to Dubai Air Navigation Services (dans), and shows no indication of slowing down, with the International Air Transport Association (Iata) predicting that rising demand for air connectivity will see the Middle East market grow by an extra 258 million passengers each year to 2036.
 
Global Air Traffic Management (GATM) 2018, taking place in Dubai on November 5 and 6, will aim to equip attendees with the required knowledge to meet this growth, by providing an insight into new technologies and how they will affect the industry, in addition to safety and future recruitment. Dubai Air Navigation Services (dans), Dubai Civil Aviation Authority (DCAA)  and Dubai Airports have all given their support for the event which takes place 5-6 November at Roda Al Bustan, Dubai.
 
The event will bring together experts from the region including Mohammad Al Dossari, director air navigation and aerodromes department, GCAA, who will present a keynote speech detailing regulations and government projects for the UAE; Jesper Skou, CEO, GAL Air Navigation Services, will speak about the privatisation of air traffic control; and Carlos Cirilo, regional director safety and flight operations, Iata, will look at the impact on the GCC of international developments.
 
Brett Weihart, CEO, Scandinavian Mountains Airport, will share the experience of revolutionising air traffic management through digitisation, while a panel discussing accelerating collaborative airport decision making will include Murat Demirbilek, vice president of ground operations, Pegasus Airlines; Aleksandrs Saveljevs, an independent A-CDM and airline operations expert and Asim Rizwan, head of air traffic movement (ATM) planning and performance at Abu Dhabi Airports.
 
Ryyan Tarabzoni, president of Saudi Air Navigation Services (SANS), will take part in the ANSP Leadership Panel, alongside Mohammed Althuwaini, facilitation general aviation superintendent, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) of Kuwait; Attila Simon, director of business development of HungaroControl and Sharon Cooke, CEO of Airways International.   
“Air traffic management is the hub of an airport’s operations,” said Rachel Sturgess, portfolio director of organisers Tarsus F&E LLC Middle East. “The Middle East airports are some of the busiest in the world, and still growing. With technology progressing at such a rapid rate in this sector, now is the perfect time to bring the MENA air traffic industry together to discuss the latest developments.”
 
She added: “The market need for this event is demonstrated not only through the support we have received from industry leading companies, but also in the broad range of countries represented at the event. GATM 2018 will feature speakers from the UK, the Netherlands, New Zealand and Scandinavia as well as several countries throughout the Middle East. We’re proud to bring such a calibre of international speakers to the UAE for GATM 2018.”
 
GATM 2018 will also include representatives from GCAA, NATS and IATA alongside many local and regional civil aviation authorities and airports and airlines. - TradeArabia News Service