TravTalk Middle East Online Magazine
The maiden Global Investment in Aviation Summit 2019 (GIAS), recently held at InterContinental Dubai Festival City, is considered as a qualitative leap in the aviation industry that requires an estimated global investment reaching $1.8 trillion by 2030.
TT Bureau
With the demand for air transport projected to increase by an annual average of 4.3 per cent, the aviation industry has become one of the most important economic sectors globally. This growth can be attributed to successive developments in the market as well as increasing air travel demand around the world, especially in India, China and the Middle East.
H E Eng Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri, UAE Minister of Economy and Chairman, General Civil Aviation Authority, in the presence of His Highness Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman, Dubai Airports; President, Dubai Civil Aviation Authority; Chairman and CEO of Emirates Group and H E Saif Mohammed Al Suwaidi, Director General, General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), inaugurated the Global Investment in Aviation Summit. The two-day summit saw many business transactions and signing of MoUs. With a core objective to explore and present investment opportunities within the aviation sector, the summit witnessed an attendance of more than 750 investors, leaders, government officials, financiers and key aviation stakeholders from around the world.
The UAE has been ranked number one in Quality of Air Transport Infrastructure Index by International Institute for Management Development, informed Al Mansouri in his welcome address. He said, “We have world-class airports and airlines – both scheduled carriers and award-winning corporate airlines; a rapidly developing aviation support infrastructure and a long-term commitment to the industry which is evidenced by its inclusion in our national development plans. Today, some 882 aircraft are registered in the UAE of which more than half are registered under UAE national carriers and a further 630 aircraft are on order for future delivery.” He expects the aviation sector to account for 20 per cent of the UAE’s GDP over the next few years.
Dr Olumuyiwa Benard Aliu, Council President, International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), believes that aviation is a global industry as it connects people, cultures and business across continents. “Our sector is responsible today for providing meaningful employment and sustainable careers to over 65 million men and women worldwide, while contributing more than $2.7 trillion to global GDP,” he claimed.
Suwaidi called for stakeholders from around the world to join the second edition of the summit in Abu Dhabi next year whilst creating further optimal investments in the sector.
