October 2008October 2008
inter airport participants gain valuable insight into India's airport plans
Nearly 1,900 aviation industry professionals visited this year's highly successful inter airport India 2008 trade show, which took place at New Delhi's Pragati Maidan Exhibition Centre from 11 to 13 September. The great majority of these were from India's airport and airline community, notably managers and buyers seeking the products and technologies needed to equip India's rapid growth in air transport.
Attendance was especially high from New Delhi and the neighbouring state of Haryana, but the show also attracted senior figures from throughout India, with Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Mumbai especially well represented.
As well as exchanging information on the latest equipment and systems, visitors and exhibitors were also provided with a unique insight into development plans for airport and air traffic control infrastructure, with speeches and presentations from leading figures in civil aviation in India.
The Chief Guest at the formal opening of the show was Mr Praful Patel, Minister of Civil Aviation for the Government of India. And in a keynote address, Mr Ajay Prasad, former Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation and Chairman of the Inter Airport India Advisory Council, outlined the steps already taken at government level to facilitate an expansion of the country's airport capacity. He also painted an optimistic picture of the future for the industry.
A more detailed summary of India's recent and projected air traffic growth was given by Mr VP Agarwal, Member - Planning at the Airport Authority of India. He provided a valuable outline of how the country's airport infrastructure will be developed during the 11th Five Year Plan period (2007-12) and what steps are being taken to upgrade India's air navigation system.
A key feature of inter airport India 2008 was a high-level international conference, which took as its theme "Challenges in Building and Operating World Class Airports". With presentations by leading figures from India's civil aviation community, this provided an additional valuable insight into future development of the country's airport infrastructure, as well as unique networking opportunities and an indication for exhibitors as to where business opportunities might be found.
Taking part in the formal inauguration of inter airport India 2008 were (from left to right) Mr VP Agarwal of the AAI, Mr Dieter Heinz of GATE, Mr Ajay Prasad, Chairman of the Inter Airport India Advisory Council, and Mr Praful Patel, India's Minister of Civil Aviation.
For a high-resolution version of this image email Ken Harris at the address below.
Supported by the Ministry of Civil Aviation and the Airports Authority of India, inter airport India 2008 was the second of these airport technology shows in India. A total of 114 exhibitors from 20 countries took part in the event. They included many of the airport equipment and services industry's leading names both from India and internationally, some present on coordinated national stands for exhibitors from Germany (GATE) and the UK (BASEA).
The next in this series of successful exhibitions, inter airport India 2010, will be held at the Bombay Exhibition Centre in Mumbai from 3 to 5 February 2010. inter airport India is organised by Mack Brooks Exhibitions and its partner in India, InterAds Ltd. Mack Brooks Exhibitions has long-standing expertise in organising trade exhibitions for the airports sector, most notably through its inter airport Europe shows. The next of these takes place in Munich, Germany, in October 2009, and will be the 17th in this series of world-leading events. The company also stages inter airport China events in Beijing. The third if these shows returns to Beijing in December 2008.
For more information on inter airport India 2008 or inter airport India 2010 contact:
Tom Ho, Exhibition Director
Tel: (+44 1727) 814 400
Fax: (+44 1727) 814 401
Email: info@interairportindia.com
Or visit the show website: www.interairportindia.com
For press information on inter airport India 2008 contact:
Ken Harris
Tel: (+44 1273) 300 434
Fax: (+44 1273) 300 986
Email: ken.harris@mackbrooks.co.uk