Dubai Airshow is gearing up to be “bigger and better” than ever before, an official representing organizer, Tarsus F&E Middle East, told AIN in the run-up to EBACE.
“We are busy all year round, but Dubai Airshow is our flagship,” said Michele van Akelijen, managing director. If the 2017 event was a reliable indicator, she said, the 2019 show expects 89,000 attendees, 1,200 exhibitors—about 40 percent of them defense-related—and 165 aircraft on the static park.
“We consider ourselves number three globally, after Paris and Farnborough. We are larger than Singapore,” she said. New features include the space pavilion, an airport solutions zone, and air cargo exhibitions. “We [expect] over 280 official delegations; we know that there will be more than 280 invitations going out,” she said.
There are plenty of new exhibitors scheduled for this year's show, including GACA, Saudi Arabia’s General Authority for Civil Aviation; Airport World of the UAE; Dnipro, the Ukraine-based space technology development company; Yuzhnoye State Design Office; Saudi Arabian Military Industries; and the Korean Defence Industries Association.
The Dubai Airshow will feature two types of pavilions. National pavilions will see representation from multiple companies from Canada, France, Germany, Russia, Turkey, the UK, Ukraine, and the U.S., while feature pavilions will focus on Global Air Traffic Management, Airport Solutions Dubai, the Space Pavilion, Cargo Connect, and Smart Manufacturing. Five conferences based around these topics will also take place at this year’s show.
Van Akelijen said Tarsus F&E's Middle East Business Aviation Association (MEBAA) Show Morocco, scheduled September 25-26 at Marrakech, will host more attendees than the last edition in 2017. Also, Airport Solutions Indonesia will run again next year, after a successful show in 2018.
The Dubai Airshow was launched in 1989, with 200 exhibitors, 10,000 visitors, and 25 aircraft on static display. The show moved to Al Maktoum International Airport (DWC) in 2013 after taking place at Dubai International 12 times. The 16th Dubai Airshow will be held at the DWC Exhibition Center on November 17-21, the fourth time the event has been held at the venue.
