ABU DHABI - More than 1200 participants are gathering in the capital of the United Arab Emirates for the global meeting of airport leaders, top aviation suppliers and airlines, organised by ACI Europe and ACI Asia-Pacific, hosted by Abu Dhabi Airports.
A highlight of the airport industry calendar, the 13th edition of ACI Airport Exchange is officially open today by Bryan Thompson, CEO of Abu Dhabi Airports, Olivier Jankovec, Director General of ACI Europe, and Patti Chau, Regional Director of ACI Asia-Pacific. This year’s theme of the event takes inspiration from Sir David Attenborough’s speech delivered at the COP24 in Katowice. In the face of the threat posed by the Climate Emergency, he said: “We cannot be radical enough”. The delegates will devise strategies for harnessing every action towards operating the zero-carbon airport and “Building less-impactful, smarter, secure and safer airports”.
Olivier Jankovec, Director General of ACI Europe commented: “Airport Exchange has developed into one of our own brands over the years of successful iterations of this event. It provides a unique platform addressing all key facets of airport operations & development, with this year’s strong focus on sustainability & decarbonisation as the timely event theme. As the airport business model keeps evolving and with disruptions coming from new technology, an ever complex security environment, changing societal requirements and the Climate Emergency, airports leaders and their business partners more than ever need to come together to debate and exchange on the best practices and the way forward. This is exactly what Airport Exchange is about.”
Patti Chau, Regional Director of ACI Asia-Pacific commented: “We wish all delegates a fruitful time in Abu Dhabi and would like to thank Abu Dhabi Airports for hosting this event. A pioneer of airport climate action in the region, we have no doubt the participants will be inspired by their excellence in airport operations and future ambitions.”
The event, which takes place over three days, 25-27 November 2019 at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre, will feature a constellation of four specialist airport conferences happening simultaneously, centred around a single major exhibition. Enriched by +120 senior industry experts as speakers, the four conferences will deliver in-depth sessions on Airport Development & Sustainability, Airport Operations, Digital Innovation, and Airport Security. Among the keynote speakers coming to the event to share their insights are Olivier Maillard, Director of E-Fan X Program at Airbus, Peter Hotham, Deputy Executive Director at SESAR Joint Undertaking, Linda Celestino, Vice President – Guest Service and Delivery at Etihad Airways, Martin Bowman, General Manager at McLaren Deloitte Alliance, Marek Litwin, Director Airport Strategy at Solidarity Transport Hub as well as CEOs of the host Abu Dhabi Airports, Oman Airports, Ras Al Khaimah International Airport, Riyadh Airports Company and Sharjah Airport Authority.
Airport Exchange provides a platform for the industry to come together and network with other airports and key partners and stakeholders from Europe, the Middle East, Asia-Pacific and the rest of the world. The exhibition hall will feature more than 70 providers of the latest technologies, products and services for the aviation industry, including Abu Dhabi Airports, AECOM, G4S, Oman Airports, Securitas, SITA, KONE, Huawei, HMSHost, Rapiscan, Smiths Detection, Elenium Automation, Egis, Munich Airport International and National Aviation Services.
