Bahrain International Airshow 2012 attracts early commitments

Civil Aviation Affairs, Kingdom of Bahrain (CAA) and Farnborough International Limited (FIL) have announced the early committment of a number of industry leading participants for the Bahrain International Airshow which will be held in 2012 under the patronage of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.

The announcement of the 2012 Bahrain International Airshow has been met with positive support from across the industry. TAG Aeronautics, Gulfstream, Bahrain Airport Services, Bahrain Economic Development Board, Bexair, Bahrain Airport Company, Cessna, Gulf Air, Gulf Technics, MENA Aerospace and Lockheed Martin are among the first companies to have signed up. Renewed sponsorship commitments from Gulf Air have also already been agreed.

The second Bahrain International Airshow will take place at the Sakhir Air Base, Kingdom of Bahrain from 19 – 21 January 2012, following the inaugural event in January 2010 which saw some US$1bn in orders announced during the show.

Captain Abdulrahman Al Gaoud, Deputy Chairman of the BIAS Supreme Organising Committee and Undersecretary for Bahrain Civil Aviation Affairs said: “In January 2010 the Kingdom of Bahrain hosted a ground breaking new Airshow, moving away from the traditional trade show format, introducing a unique and individual concept to participants.”

Amanda Stainer, Exhibitions and Events Director at Farnborough International Limited, added: “The newly developed bespoke venue at Sakhir Air Base offers a fantastic tailor-made hospitality environment. The results from 2010 have proved beyond doubt that a clearly focused event orchestrated to attract the highest level of delegations and visitors is precisely what the industry wanted and we will continue to develop the concept to deliver a very high level trade event offering a genuinely exclusive opportunity.”

Outlook for aviation in the Middle East

The Middle East region has witnessed unprecedented growth within the commercial and private aviation sectors over the past decade and is the only region in the world where international traffic increased during 2009 by 11.2%, with a forecast to continue to expand at a similar rate, well into 2020.

Taking advantage of the central geographical location, Middle Eastern carriers are also playing a major role in bridging the Far East with Europe and Africa, as well as between the Commonwealth of Independent States and Africa. Governments across the region are supporting more open access for aviation and investing in aviation infrastructure. Over the next three decades, $48bn is committed to airport projects alone.