300 delegates from 44 countries participate in second Airport Service Quality Conference & Exhibition

The conference, the Middle East's first, has further established Abu Dhabi as an internationally renowned business, financial and tourist hub and has made Abu Dhabi International Airport the region's leader of airports.

The speakers that are attending include: Peter Mayerhofer, Project Manager Sky Link Terminal, from Vienna International Airport; Dr. Evangelos Peter Poungias, Director, Commercial and Property Activities, HOCHTIEF AirPort; Craig Bradbrook, Head of Safety, Security, Environment and Planning, Airport Authority Hong Kong; Apostolis Kontaxis from Athens International Airport; and Roman Himmler, MBA, Head of Investments / Subsidiaries, Vienna International Airport.

Covering topics such as Why Excellent Service Pays Off; Customer Friendly and Efficient Terminal Operation; Quality Management and Communications and Education, the conference launched with great success as it managed to build a rapport with both the delegates and the attendees regarding the objectives of the conference. It was attended by representatives from the Abu Dhabi Department of Civil Aviation (DCA), Airports Council International (ACI), Etihad Airways, ADNOC Distribution, National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) besides the visitors. Along with the delegates, media representing countries such as Australia, Canada, China, India, Japan, Kuwait, Pakistan, Paraguay, Qatar, Russia, South Africa, Switzerland and the United Kingdom attended the opening conference to cover the internationally renowned event.

'We are proud to be hosting our honorary guests for this extraordinary conference and exhibition,' said HE Dr. Sheikh Ahmed bin Saif Al Nahyan, Chairman, Abu Dhabi Department of Civil Aviation.

'At DCA, we continually strive to develop our International Airport, our aviation sector and naturally, develop Abu Dhabi as an international destination of significant business and leisure capabilities. The ASQ has helped us further achieve this level and sustain Abu Dhabi as a global hub,'

he concluded.

'Following the success of last year's ASQ event in Asia, we are pleased to meet again in a rapidly developing city and region where service issues are given top priority,' commented Robert J. Aaronson, Director General, ACI. 'Air transport is a recognised driver of local, regional and national development. By stimulating the travel and tourism sector, our industry helps nations to seize new business opportunities and develop their human and natural resources. We must continue to target these long-term benefits and aviation's measurable contribution to economic stability.'

ASQ is being held to focus on airport customer service issues and develop industry professionals on service excellence in airports. This is the second conference and follows on from last year's successful meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The Abu Dhabi event is being held until March 7th and will have a combination of workshops, one-on-one networking sessions and an exhibition providing a platform to obtain information on cutting edge technologies, products and services.