The 12th edition of Airport Show starts in Dubai today. Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, Chairman of Dubai Airports and Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates Airline and Group, will open the show at Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre.

Airport Show 2012 will feature 210 of the top-tier companies from 32 countries. The event will offer its attendees the ideal platform to network and the opportunity to join in on industry related seminars during the three-day run.

The biggest biennial event, taking place on 10,302 sq m, is one of the world's leading B2B events devoted exclusively to airport construction, operations, technology and services and is supported by leading international industry associations and local government authorities.

This year’s edition will also feature 6 country pavilions with world-renowned companies as the participants with a total of 59 companies taking part in China, Demark, Germany, France, Switzerland and UK pavilions.

The German Pavilion participation has been marked as the biggest in 3 years in terms of size and number of participating companies. A total of 420 sq m exhibition space is being shared by 26 German organizations.

This edition will also feature the Hosted Buyers Program, gathering as many as 43 key airport and civil aviation decision-makers from 13 countries in the Middle East and South Asia.

The Hosted Buyers attending are coming from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Turkey, Djibouti, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Tunisia, Egypt, Algeria and Jordan, in addition to the UAE.

For the first time the show organizers have introduced a Project Village which will gather all hosted buyers stands at a prime location at the exhibition venue.

Another highlight of the show is the free to attend seminars designed to update the
knowledge and professional skills of the aviation industry. Hosted Buyers will have the opportunity to present their projects at the Project Seminar giving attendees valuable insights into the regions industry outlook.

Mohamad Bader-Eddin, Show director at Reed Exhibitions Middle East, organizer of the Airport Show, said: “With billions of dollars planned to be pumped into the capacity expansion of airports in the GCC region, the Airport Show provides the global aviation industry players the opportunity to enhance their businesses by tapping into the unlimited growth potential of markets like the UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.”

“The GCC region holds immense hope to the global aviation industry with its airports expansion program and the Airport Show is the ideal platform to bring the buyers and sellers under one roof,” he added.