Global Airport Leaders' Forum

• Two-day event co-located with 14th Airport Show
• Visionaries, decision-makers & policy-makers to speak
• Regional developments to be under the spotlight
• Forum to debate aviation future roadmap
• Collaboration is key to sustainable airport growth

A stellar line up of key decision-makers, thought-leaders and academics from various geographical regions and international organisations for the Global Airport Leaders’ Forum (GALF-2014) have been announced by Reed Exhibitions Middle East, which is organizing the knowledge-and-expertise sharing platform, collocated  with the 14th edition of Airport Show from May 11 to 13.

The impressive portfolio of compelling speakers from a broad spectrum of the aviation industry has been designed to offer an even deeper and richer learning experience to the participants of the second edition of GALF, which was a huge success last year given its rich debate agenda and relevance to the region witnessing the fastest growth and expansion of the aviation industry.

In order to make the event more relevant, beneficial and appealing to the regional aviation industry professionals, an eight-member Advisory Board comprising of industry experts provided their valuable inputs and insights which helped in chalking out the forum agenda and finalizing the speakers.

Leading Collaborative Sustainable Airport Growth has been chosen as the theme of this year’s gathering of high-caliber airport leaders from around the world. As many as 30 speakers will address the forum spread out in 10 sessions, each dealing with a pertinent topic of interest with Q&A opportunities for the attendees.

The confirmed international speakers include  Hussein Dabbas, IATA’s Regional Vice President for Middle East & North Africa, Dr. John D. Kasarda, Director, Center for Air Commerce,  Kenan-Flagler Business School, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Dr. Ralf Gaffal, Vice President for  International Business at Munich Airport Concessions, Wesam Jammoul, Director of Digital Implementation Service, Smartworld, David Fielder, Global Head, Health Safety Security and Environment (HSSE), Damco Hong Kong, Jason Schwabel, Middle East Representative at US Transportation Security Administration (TSA), Gerrard Baker, Regional Aviation Security Liaison Officer, Department of Transport (UK), and Duncan Alexander, Director for West-Asia at Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA).

Among the speakers from the UAE are Khalifa Al Zaffin, Executive Chairman, Dubai Aviation City Corporation, Hani Al Hamli, Secretary General, Dubai Economic Council,   Mohammed Al-Rais, Managing Director, Hill International Middle East, Tony Douglas, CEO, Abu Dhabi Airports Company, Mohammed Abdullah Ahli, Director General, Dubai Civil Aviation Authority,  Maj. Gen. Pilot Ahmed Bin Thani, Assistant Commander for Seaports and Airports Affairs, Dubai Police,  Maj. Gen. Mohammed Al Marri, Director General, General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners' Affairs (GDRFA-Dubai), George Horan, President, Dubai Duty Free, and Rob Broere, Vice President for IT Passenger Services at Emirates Airlines.

Daniyal Qureshi, Director of Airport Show and GALF, said: “The Forum will have an impressive gathering of policy-makers, decision-makers, visionaries, academics and influencers. The Forum is going to be absolutely outstanding. Every single topic will be enlightening. They will debate how the aviation industry is evolving in the 21st century and strategies and business models to navigate the changing landscape. The Forum will be immensely beneficial to the region which is in need of global expertise given the fast pace of growth and investments in the aviation infrastructure.”

Among the companies which have stepped forward to support the forum as the sponsors are emaratech, Smartworld, Honeywell, LG, DTP and Airbus ProSky.  The session sponsors include Hill International and Selex ES.

Among the topics that the Forum will be debating are Airports as Economic Pillar to Increase National Competitiveness, Aerotropolis, Seamless Experience and Excellence as Determinant Factor in Airports Success, Managing Environmental Challenges, Technology as A game-changer for airports, Expanding Aviation’s Reach Through Open Skies, Safer skies for the future, Airports and Airlines synergies and Airport Security in a highly-mobile world.  

GALF will take place at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre (DICEC) under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority (DCAA), Chairman of Dubai Airports and Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates Airline and Group. Last year, the event attracted over 6500 visitors from 83 countries and 225 exhibitors from 35 countries.