Global business information company, naseba, has confirmed the fourth edition of AVEX International Airshow, taking place from November 7th – 10th 2010 at the Sharm El Sheikh International Airport in Egypt.
The four-day event – under the patronage of Egypt’s Minister of Civil Aviation, Ahmed Shafik – is the Africa and Middle East aviation platform. It will feature an indoor and outdoor exhibition, international airports pavilion, aircraft showcase park and static displays, the AVEX Awards 2010 ceremony and aerobatic flying displays. It will also feature the African Aviation Unity Summit which aims to unite African aviation businesses.
According to chairman of the Egyptian Holding Company for Airports and Air Navigation’s Ibrahim Ahmed Manaa: “We have been working with AVEX since its inception and we are pleased to be partnering with the air show for its fourth run. We are confident the air show will outperform its previous successes, taking the aviation industry to a new level. The Africa and Middle East region is certainly proving itself to be a lucrative market in aviation and I believe AVEX will further boost the region’s massive expansion.”
According to the show’s organisers, naseba group - responsible for the highly successful AVEX 2008 - the first two days of this year’s air show have been set aside as business days with the last two days being open to the public.
Nicholas Watson, AVEX Airshow Director said: “The international aviation sector was hit hard during the global slowdown. The sustainability of the Africa and the Middle East aviation industry - mainly due to infrastructure investments by local governments, growth in business aviation in the Middle East and the expansion of low-cost airlines across Africa – has put the region’s aviation sector in the spotlight with more and more people than ever before showing an interest in the MEA region.”
The AVEX Awards 2010 ceremony will reward leaders in aviation by presenting them with awards at the ceremony. Award categories include Leading Business Aircraft Manufacturing Company, Leading Regional Airline, Best Emerging MRO Company and Leading Air Charter Company, among others.
According to several media reports, Africa is on the up with regards to aviation development, with several deals and aviation sales taking place on the continent. One such deal is Boeing and Embraer’s winning bid - worth $333million - giving the companies the go-ahead to supply Algeria’s oil company Sonatrach subsidiary with seven planes. According to Algerian airline Tassili Airlines’ website, the carrier will also be signing contracts to buy four Boeing B737-800 jets and three Embraer ERJ-190 regional jets in the near future. At the same time, Ethiopia Airlines has taken steps to restore itself as “the Pan African airline”, ordering for another ten B737-800 planes in November, bringing its total number of aircraft to 45. To the west of the continent, The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has partnered with Boeing, with the aircraft manufacturer giving FAAN the opportunity to test-fly its latest product, the 747-800 series in Nigeria. And finally in South Africa, Engineering News has reported that the southern-most African country features in three of the top international air traffic growth markets predicted for the next 20 years by European airline manufacturer Airbus in its 2010 global market forecast.
