A first for Abu Dhabi as aviation conference comes to town

The CAPA outlook summit will bring together aviation experts from throughout the Middle East and Asia to discuss the huge growth the aviation sector is experiencing in this part of the world.

Sponsored by ADAC, the conference will discuss the latest trends in aviation and hear from experts on how the region might respond to record growth. The Middle East region grew the fastest of any region in the world last year, 18.6% and that trend is expected to continue into 2008 and beyond.

Throughout the Middle East airport infrastructure projects add up to more than $50bn dollars whilst carriers such as Etihad, Qatar and Emirates are leading the world in orders for new aircraft with orders for around 1000 new aircraft emanating from the region worth more than $200bn dollars.

Abu Dhabi International Airport, the capital's gateway, is already one of the fastest growing airports in the region. The 1982-built airport grew from an opening capacity of 3.5 million passengers to 7 million in 2005, and is now poised for another boost to 12 million passengers when the third terminal becomes fully operational later this year.

The Middle East Aviation Outlook Summit is being staged by The Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA ).

Chairman of ADAC, HE Khalifa M. Al Mazrouei said "This is a first for Abu Dhabi and ADAC is pleased to welcome such a distinguished group of aviation experts to our city. Conferences like this will help build the profile of Abu Dhabi and its growing reputation as a conference venue. As ADAC seeks to grow the aviation industry in the Emirate the CAPA event will help put us on the map.

'The geographic location of Abu Dhabi and the region as a whole, situated between the major economies of East and West has helped drive the huge increase in demand for passenger and cargo capacity. This aligned with the growth of the Gulf economies and the expansion of tourism and leisure is helping make this region the most dynamic in the world. At ADAC we are in the process of re-developing the airport at Abu Dhabi and we will soon boost capacity by a further five million with the opening of the new terminal three facility. The second runway is nearly complete and work has already begun on the new air traffic control tower. Our aim is to create a world class gateway to Abu Dhabi and enable the Emirates home carrier Etihad and other airlines to link us to the world.'

Over 200 aviation experts from all over the world are taking part in the two-day conference, held the prestigious Beach Rotana Hotel & Towers in downtown Abu Dhabi. ADAC is hosting a gala dinner.