Airport Show wins massive aviation industry backing

Dubai's Airport Show is generating huge backing from key global companies with as many as 54 new companies signing up for participation in the 14th edition of the event to be held at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre (DICEC) from May 11 to 13.
Time Aerospace thumbnail

As of March first week, 185 companies from various geographical regions have signed up for participation in this year’s show which will have 10,085 square metres of gross exhibition space. Last year’s show attracted over 6500 visitors from 83 countries, generating substantial business and new growth leads for the 225 exhibitors who came from 35 countries. 

Over 65 per cent of the previous edition’s exhibitors will be returning to show, many with an enhanced portfolio of products, services and solutions to tap the vast growth potential offered by the world’s fastest growing aviation market with over $100 billion worth of projects either underway or planned across the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia (MENASA) region. 

Airport Show-2014 will have five country pavilions featuring a record 66 companies from China, Germany, France, Switzerland, Canada and the US. Co-located with the Airport Show will be the 2nd edition of Global Airport Leaders’ Forum (GALF) and the launch edition of Travel Catering Expo (TCE). 

The event is organised by Reed Exhibitions Middle East with the support of DCAA, Dubai Airports, dnata, DANS and Dubai Aviation Engineering Projects (DAEP) in addition to industry representative bodies like German Airport Technology and Equipment (GATE), Middle East Business Aviation Association (MEBAA), British Airport and Services and Equipment Association and Swiss Aerospace Cluster, amongst many others. 

Daniyal Qureshi, director of Airport Show, said: “The support to the show has been overwhelming and strong. We are heading towards a sell-out event with an unfaltering interest in the regional aviation markets by global firms given the massive volume of investments planned in the expansion and upgradation of aviation infrastructure, especially airports. The enhanced exhibitors’ profile confirms the reach and effectiveness of the Airport Show extending beyond the ordinary. There will be enormous opportunities to network, share, explore and gain in terms of business at the show.” 

He said the airport business has transformed significantly over the last decade and the needs of airport managers and operators are very different today than what they were at the start of the century. These changes are reflected in the profile of the event and the global exhibitors that participate at it. 

Key amongst these changes is the fact that airports today are much larger, all-encompassing facilities, almost like a city within a city. Airports contribute significantly to the economic prosperity of the regions they are in and as a result, have been prioritized by governments – in terms of land allocation, integration within economic development programs, financing and management, he added. 

According to a CAPA study, a whopping $385 billion are in different stages of investments in airport developments across the world, including $40 billion, as per an IATA report, in the Arabian Gulf states with the UAE, which is also home to world’s fasting growing airports and international airlines, in the forefront.

Daniyal Qureshi, director of Airport Show