Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC) today announced the official sales launch of the 18th World Route Development Forum, which will take place from 29th September to 2nd October at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC) this year. The event is hosted by ADAC and will be supported by Etihad Airways, as official carrier and in partnership with Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority, Department of Transport (DOT), ADNOC Distribution, and Mubadala Aerospace. The 18th World Routes will be sponsored by DFS Duty Free and Abu Dhabi Media, as the official media partner.

The second World Routes event took place in Abu Dhabi in 1996 in the capital’s downtown Hilton Hotel. Sixteen years later and at much grander scale, the event is being held again in Abu Dhabi, as one of the world’s best connected cities, easily accessible for delegates from across the globe. These factors combined set to make this event the largest World Route Development Forum to date with 3,000 air service industry professionals expected to attend.

James E. Bennett, Chief Executive Officer of ADAC, commented: “Abu Dhabi’s growing position as an international hub for tourism and business aviation will play a major role in attracting leading experts and decision makers in the industry to World Routes 2012, one of the most important conferences in the aviation calendar. ADAC is proud to be hosting the 18th World Routes and we look forward to welcoming our attendees to our vibrant city, as it witnesses major developments.”

On supporting World Routes, H.E. Mohamed Hareb Al Yousef, the Executive Director of the Department of Transport, said: “We are pleased to support World Routes Abu Dhabi 2012 which will contribute significantly to promoting Abu Dhabi as an aviation hub. We view this event as a manifestation of our own mission which is to ensure the sustained growth of the aviation sector in Abu Dhabi through enhanced global connectivity.”
H.E. Mubarak Al Muhairi, Director General, Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority, commented: “This is an important audience for us. Air accessibility is a crucial factor in the advancement of our tourism ambitions and we will use this event to build strong relationships with the influential decision makers who plan and implement the airline routes of the future.”

The event attracts many airlines with low-cost, charter, regional and flag carriers all in attendance and represented by delegates who are responsible for making decisions on both new and existing routes. Early registrations indicate a strong presence from all regions with carriers such as Air Canada, United Airlines, Vueling, Jet2.com, Hawaiian Airlines, China Southern, Copa Airlines, Air Baltic, Malaysia Airlines, Cathay Pacific and South African Airways already confirming that they will attend.

Nigel Mayes, VP & Commercial for UBM Aviation Routes, organiser of World Routes, said: “Air service development is fundamental to the prosperity of cities and regions around the world, as well as the growth of the airports that serve these regions. We are delighted to be returning to one of our very first host cities, Abu Dhabi to give our delegates a real insight to the market opportunity that Abu Dhabi presents and see for themselves that this is a true city of the future.”

The World Route Development Strategy Summit, supported by IACO and the World Bank, will become a one day event on the Sunday where delegates will hear from industry leaders including James E. Bennett, CEO of ADAC, and James Hogan, CEO of Etihad Airways.

 

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