The 17th edition of the Dubai Air Show will be held from 15th to 17th May 2017. It is one of the leading aeronautics fairs worldwide. According to recent estimates the event ‒ which started in 1989 on the initiative of Fairs & Exhibitions Ltd in collaboration with the Government of Dubai, the Department of Civil Aviation, the Dubai International Airport and the Air Force, and which takes place every two years ‒ is rapidly growing, as shown by the current figures registering to this day more than 300 exhibitors coming from all over the world, and at least 7,500 trade visitors expected to attend this year. As in previous editions, the event will include the presentation of numerous technological innovations, plans for the construction of new airports and airport infrastructures in the Middle East for an economic value of about 170 billion Dollars. Suffice it to remember the 2005 edition, when Emirates (in Arabic al-Imārāt) unveiled its A380 Airbus. Emirates ‒ the UAE national airline company born in March 1985 ‒ is to date the largest company in the Middle East, with more than 3,000 weekly flights operated from Dubai International Airport (DXB) to six continents. In a recent interview, Tim Clark (CEO) said that by 2020 the airline aims to become the largest in the world for international traffic. Among the big Italian names always present at the event, there is Leonardo-Finmeccanica (name used by Finmeccanica from April 2016; from 1 January 2017, the company has changed its name to Leonardo SpA) which has been present in the region for almost forty years through its subsidiaries and for which the UAE are a strategic business partner. In particular, the seven operating divisions ‒ Helicopters, Airplanes, Aero-structures, Avionics and Space Systems, Electronics for Earth and Naval Defense, Defense Systems, Security and Information Systems ‒ have been cooperating for some time in close contact with local businesses, in order to meet the technical expectations of UAE customers, not just to simply place their own systems in the market, but also to produce new components, carrying out continuous training, update and support for the local aviation industry.
(Bologna Office – Linda Tontodonati – Tel. 0039 (0)51 2750020)
