Dubai delays Airport Show to October this year

Dubai’s Airport Show, the world’s largest annual airport industry B2B event, has been delayed to October this year, it was announced on April 13.

The event will now be held from October 26-28, 2020 at the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) where it was scheduled earlier for June. Last year’s event hosted 351 exhibitors on 15,599 square metres of exhibition space, welcoming 7,100 attendees from 89 countries.

Organised by Reed Exhibitions Middle East, the event is supported by Dubai Civil Aviation Authority (DCAA), Dubai Airports, Dubai Aviation Engineering Projects (DAEP) and dnata, besides global and regional aviation bodies, suppliers’ associations and working groups.

“Every industry has come to a standstill due to the unforeseen circumstances we are faced with. Our past experiences of handling crises will help us to bounce back into the aviation business, once the crisis is contained. We shall all play our part in the recovery,” said Mohammed Abdulla Ahli, director general of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority and CEO of Dubai Air Navigation Services (dans).

The Airport Show is expected to host 375 exhibiting companies and over 8,500 visitors coming in from almost 100 countries.

In its 20th edition, the event showcases advanced global aviation technologies and allows attendees to participate in conferences, matchmaking programmes and workshops.

The collocated Global Airport Leaders Forum (GALF) and Women in Aviation General Assembly will host over 1,500 delegates and 100 speakers, covering the latest industry developments across four themes of air traffic control, airport security, airport passenger experience and ground handling.

Daniyal Qureshi, group exhibitions director, Reed Exhibitions Middle East, said: “Global air transport supports almost $3 trillion in global economic activity, with the world’s airlines carrying more than 4 billion passengers and 60 million tonnes of freight every year. Aviation’s contribution during periods of global emergencies such as we are facing today is critical, delivering thousands of tonnes of food, medicines and essential supplies to the worst affected and enabling world leaders and experts to efficiently collaborate and support rehabilitation efforts.

There is no doubt that Covid-19 has and will severely affect our industry. However, we are confident that once we are through these challenging times, aviation will once again play its important role in supporting economic recovery efforts around the world.”

The Airport Show joins a slew of local, regional and international events that have either been delayed or cancelled in the aftermath of the Covid-19 outbreak and its incessant spread.

The Tokyo Olympics – slated to begin in July 2020 – has now been pushed to 2021. Meanwhile, a meeting to discuss pushing back the dates for the Expo 2020 Dubai event will be held on April 21.

Read: Dubai Expo delay to be discussed later this month, BIE says

Additionally, the annual Dubai Lynx media and advertising event, which was postponed from March to September 2020, has been cancelled for this year, and will now be held from March 7-10, 2021.

Read more: Advertising event Dubai Lynx 2020 cancelled due to Covid-19 impact

The Arabian Travel Market, originally slated for this month was delayed to June this year. The Dubai World Trade Centre also postponed the Dubai International Boat Show that was scheduled to be held from March 10-14.

Read: Dubai International Boat Show postponed

Art Dubai too announced that its 2020 edition will be postponed. Soon after, trade fairs Ai Everything said that its event has been postponed indefinitely, while Careers UAE will take place in October this year.

Read more: Art Dubai postponed due to coronavirus