Saudi aviation contingent flies the flag for Kingdom at Dubai Airshow

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And a powerful mix of Saudi civil aviation and military decision-makers are also expected to converge in the United Arab Emirates as part of a major delegations programme and an expanded exhibitor profile for the aerospace exhibition, which will be held from 11-15th November at Airport Expo Dubai.

The show will feature up to 900 exhibitors from 48 countries - an increase in participants of 40% on 2005's Dubai Airshow, making it the largest to date.

Some 40,000 trade visitors and up to 150 civil and military delegations from 50 countries are expected to attend the show. The delegations include officials from Saudi Arabia's civil aviation authority, defence ministry personnel and high ranking executives from airline operators.

The delegations programme is co-ordinated by Fairs & Exhibitions (F&E), which organises the Dubai Airshow in conjunction with the Department of Civil Aviation, Government of Dubai and the UAE Ministry of Defence.

'The delegations programme is one of the cornerstones of the Dubai Airshow's continuing success and is instrumental in solidifying its stature as one of the top global aerospace events. Through this initiative we deliver key decision-makers to exhibitors, ensuring quality interaction between industry players and leaders,' said Alison Weller, Director of Aerospace, F&E.

Saudi Arabia, through the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA), is currently driving a SR20 billion expansion programme which will see the Kingdom add an additional five new airports to its portfolio. These new facilities will be in addition to the 27 other currently operating airports including three international hubs in Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam.

Jeddah's King Abdul Aziz International Airport is also undergoing a major SR900 million overhaul to upgrade its facilities in a bid to increase its annual handling capacity to 80 million passengers.

'Saudi Arabia is a key player in the continued growth of the one of the world's fastest growing regional aviation markets. Under the directive of the government, and being spurred by impressive developments of the country's aviation infrastructure, as well as the strengthening presence of Al Salam and NAS, Saudi Arabia's involvement in the Dubai Airshow is paramount,' said Weller.

A key element of this year's show is the high propensity of new-to-market exhibitors - 130 to date from 24 countries - accounting for more than one tenth of the show's entire exhibitor profile.

Amongst those lining up for the Dubai Airshow for the first time this year are: the UAE's Mubadala Aerospace Division and Falcon Aviation, which supplies point-to-point air services with its helicopter and jet fleet; a string of exhibitors from the USA including Cirrus, which designs, manufactures and markets general aviation composite aircraft and Eclipse, the name behind the very first light jet; Switzerland's Grob Aerospace, one of the world's largest and most experienced composite aircraft manufacturers; Germany's Henkel Aerospace, which makes aerospace structural adhesives; Russia's International Association of Space Activities and Sweden's Volvo Aero, which makes hi-tech components for aircraft rocket engines.

Dubai Aerospace Enterprise, the global aerospace manufacturing and services corporation headquartered in Dubai, is to also make its debut as the event's first-ever host-sponsor. The move is a clear indication of Dubai's growing importance on the global aerospace stage and the Dubai Airshow's role of attracting world-class companies.

'The Dubai Airshow is now a vital event on the global aerospace calendar and significant for the Middle East region as a whole, so we are delighted to be its first title sponsor. It forms a showcase from which to explain the development of DAE as an aerospace cluster of businesses that are beginning to leverage the significant opportunities in this region and will support further long term expansion and growth the world over,' said Munther Juma, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Corporate Communications at DAE.

A host of new countries will also be represented for the first time at this year's show including: the Cayman Islands, which will see its government registry take part; Afghanistan, represented by Safi Airways; Luxembourg by maintenance service provider CAE Aviation and the Philippines with Beechcraft spares stockist Aerospace Products International.

The Dubai Airshow 2007 static display will host over 130 aircraft including the Airbus A380, Boeing's BBJ family, the SR22, the world's best-selling, single-engined four-seater aircraft, a Lockheed Martin F-16 and a host of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and business jets.

The Russian MIG 29 multi-role fighter aircraft will take to the skies during the daily flying display which will also feature performances from three of the world's top aerobatic display teams - Britain's Red Arrows, the Patrouille de France and Spain's Patrulla Aguila, which will be a making its Arabian Gulf debut.

This year's Dubai Airshow will be the last at Airport Expo Dubai, with future growth being accommodated by a move in 2009 to a purpose-built site at Dubai Exhibition World, which is being built at Dubai World Central, the huge urban aviation complex currently underway at Jebel Ali, 30 kilometres outside Dubai city.

The Dubai Airshow is open to industry-linked visitors only. Visitor tickets have now gone on sale on-line at www.dubaiairshow.org. Online sales will cease on October 29th after which, tickets will be available from the box office at Airport Expo Dubai.