Aviation Africa 2019 to highlight MENA partnerships

Building on the success of last year's edition of the event in Cairo, this year's annual Aviation Africa summit and exhibition - taking place in just a few weeks in Kigali, Rwanda (27-28 February) - will include discussions on developing partnerships between airlines, airports and air service providers across the MENA region.

The event - which is run by Times Aerospace- began in Dubai four years ago. The UAE was selected because of its hub status and ease of visa rulings. This is a philosophy shared by Rwanda, which offers a visa-free entry to African countries and entry on arrival to others. Times Aerospace managing director Mark Brown, said: "The beauty of this means that we have visitors, speakers, exhibitors and key government delegations coming from all over Africa."

Headline presenters include one of the top names among airline CEOs, the current chairman of the International Air Transport Organisation (IATA) and the CEO of the successful Middle Eastern carrier Qatar Airways, H.E. Akbar Al Baker.


Courtesy Qatar Airways

Akbar Al Baker (above), will be centre stage for the air transport segment of the summit. Mr Brown said: "Qatar is one of the airlines that has been expanding into Africa in recent years. There has often been concern expressed by African airlines about the growth of non-African airlines but I think many of them may not have heard Mr Al Baker share his views. I know they are in for a treat."

Mr Al Baker will be on stage for a one-on-one interview with summit chairman Alan Peaford MBE (right), the editor-in-chief of both Arabian Aerospace and African Aerospace magazines.

Airline leaders from across Africa - both from English-speaking and Francophone countries - will also be talking at or visiting the summit, which will be addressing issues such as protectionism, search and rescue, infrastructure, airline finance, aviation services, regulation and innovation.

Aviation Africa 2019 is a trade event for the aerospace & defence industries, being held in partnership with the Rwanda Civil Aviation Authority, RwandAir & Rwanda Airports Company. The co-located exhibition will feature over 100 global companies.