Airport Show Broke All Records Of Success In Its 19 Years History

Airport Show, which concluded after a three-day run at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre (DICEC), climbed another step in its journey of success and broke all records in its 19 years history in terms of occupied exhibition space, number of country pavilions, exhibitors, hosted buyers and visitors.

The world’s biggest airport industry event had an impressive participation by 375 exhibitors from 60 countries who showcased over 50 new technologies and innovative products at the B2B platform to a record 7500 participants and visitors. It had a record participation of 211 Hosted Buyers from 30 countries, up from last year’s 180. Next year’s edition will be bigger by 1,000 square metres exhibition space which has been added to this edition’s 15,000 square metres. Three new co-located events have been added for the next year edition: Ground Handling, GSE and Air Cargo. Global Airport Leaders Forum (GALF), Aviation Security and Air Traffic Control (ATC) Forum will continue its journey of success in the 2020 edition.

Reed Exhibitions Middle East, the organizers of Airport Show, said this year’s much-anticipated show was a stupendous success taking into account different parameters, including the increased number of deals and strategic alliances signed between the participating companies and hosted buyers. The participants appreciated the aviation industry’s growth in the UAE, particularly in Dubai which has remained the most-successful aviation business model taking into account its unblemished track record of management of airports and their continued growth and expansion.

His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, Chairman of Dubai Airports and Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates Airline and Group, who officially opened the Show, highlighted the importance of the aviation industry’s role in boosting the GDP growth and appreciated the impressive growth achieved by the industry.

He said: “Air travel is set to boom further across the world.  Airports are growing in size and prominence as the cities compete to be preferred hubs for the tech-savvy travellers. The air transport sector is now worth a U$2.7 trillion in global economic activity, carrying more than four billion passengers and 62 million tonnes of freight each year.”

Appreciating the successful holding of the Airport Show, he said: “A good way of learning from each other’s experiences and exploring the new technology and innovations is visiting trade exhibitions like Airport Show that the emirate has been hosting as part of its commitment to offer the industry a bouquet of latest technology products.”

This year’s sponsors include DACO, emaratech, ASGC, Tytek, DTP, Smiths Detection, Skyguide, Smartworld and Thales.  Tytek showcased its next generation trauma response system and medical products, and a customized system that will help the authorities to act quickly for life-saving to visitors until the emergency services can gain access.

Bishoy Azmi, CEO of ASGC, one of the main sponsors of Airport Show, remarked: “The aviation sector and its infrastructure is one of the pillars of the UAE economy, especially Dubai, which highly focuses on this sector. Our company has a strategic relations with the aviation sector in Dubai and we are currently executing projects at the Dubai International – now the world’s top airport in terms of international passenger numbers-  and Al Maktoum International.”

He pointed out that the giant projects like the construction of airports requires extensive experience and knowledge of the entire aspects of the aviation industry, especially the airports which work around the clock and where the development must be completed at the same time while its operations are smoothly on according to the globally adopted procedures for the security and safety.

He remarked: “The development and success of the aviation industry in the UAE is undoubtedly a global model due to the wise vision of the UAE government and its investment of tens of billions of dirhams to create an unmatched air infrastructure. The UAE and the regional aviation sector will continue to lead the world with positive economic indicators and enhance the region’s importance on the global air transport map.”

Collins Aerospace showcased its ARINC SelfPass biometric solutions. Rakan Khaled, Director of Global Business, Avionics, Collins Aerospace, said the biometric solutions provide individual and mutual benefits to airlines, airports and passengers.

Using biometrics and touchpoints through the airport creates a seamless, stress-free and even safer experience for travellers from check-in to destination. “We are doing its trial run at a couple of airports across the world and feedback is very positive. Even at the Airport Show, the interest is strong from the regional airports.”

Matt Eccles, Marketing Director of Tytek Group, said the company has received serious enquiries from some of the very big players in the industry.

Dean Macwley, Product Manager, Thales, said the participation was an engaging experience. The leader in digital aviation and air traffic flow management showcased its services in augmented reality.

Andreas Luscher, Head of Smart NOTAM Products and Services, Swiss Air Navigation Services Ltd (Skyguide), said the response was overwhelming and visitors showed keen interest in the products and services showcased at the Show. Skyguide showcased their products in Communication Navigation Service (CNS) and a drone for CNS maintenance.

For the 2020 edition, Portugal and The Netherlands have confirmed their participation as the Country Pavilions. This will be in addition to France, Germany, Switzerland, UK, Denmark, China, US and Canada which will continue their participation with country pavilions. The Innovative Trail has turned out to be a huge success with the participation of 25 companies who showcased innovative products and technologies.

The new conferences on Ground Handling, GSE and Air Cargo have been added to the calendar of events taking into account the sweeping changes in these vital sector of the aviation industry, especially in the Middle East. The organizers are expecting the number of delegates to conferences to rise significantly to more than 1,000.

Daniyal Qureshi, Group Exhibition Director, Reed Exhibitions Middle East, said: “The overwhelming support and success this year shows that the global aviation industry continues to be vibrant with immense growth prospects for the region. This success has prompted us to increase the exhibition space next year by 15 per cent and launch a dedicated air cargo platform to gather more industry stakeholders under one roof.

This year’s co-located event like Women in Aviation (WIA) General Assembly and CAPA Middle East Africa Aviation Summit, attracted wider participation from officials, experts and representatives from global aviation companies. The conference were a major crowd pullers with participants actively debating the issues under the spotlight.  This year’s co-located events discussed the benefits that disruptive technologies like AI, blockchain, IoT and Augmented Reality are providing to the airport industry and the challenges of the exponential increase in air traffic around the world, especially in the Middle East.