World Class Airports Conference gets underway

H.E. Khalifa Al Mazrouei, Chairman and Managing Director of ADAC, today welcomed conference delegates to the World Class Airports Conference, at the Abu Dhabi Hilton.

The conference is the second of three ADAC is hosting in Abu Dhabi over the coming weeks. Last week saw the first ever Low Cost Airlines conference in Al Ain and next week, beginning November 16, ADAC will play host to the first ever Middle East Terminal Expo conference at the Beach Rotana.

H.E. Khalifa Al Mazrouei told the audience:

"The aviation industry is currently facing major challenges as the impact of the financial markets affects air travel. That said, the aviation industry has faced such testing times before and I am optimistic that the impact of today's credit crunch will not be lasting. Airports around the world must of course take account of the current climate but must also look to the long term and the predicted growth in air travel. Airport infrastructure takes time and must plan for the long term which is why we in Abu Dhabi and other parts of the Middle East are proceeding with investment plans to bring facilities to a world class level and ensure we have the capacity to deal with the anticipated growth over the short and medium term."

The conference itself will focus on the challenges facing airports around the world.

The themes are: Safety and security, the environment, operational efficiency, customer satisfaction and the role of airports as catalysts for economic diversification. Each area is the subject of scrutiny as the conference seeks to find solutions to the common challenges airport around the world face.

ADAC's chairman added: "Conferences such as these highlight the fact that airports around the world face common challenges. Their value, to ADAC, and the attendees is that solutions are common to all. What can work in one airport, invariably, can work in another. Safety and security is a challenge that all airports face and I welcome the focus this conference is placing on the issue. You cannot make progress on other fronts unless you can offer an environment in which passengers, airlines and staff feel safe. Customer Service excellence is also an issue that airports around the world must constantly strive towards and deliver and we at ADAC look forward to taking the lessons from around the world and applying them in our airports to ensure we continue to offer the best possible service to our passengers and airlines."