The booming Gulf aviation market will make next year’s Bahrain International Airshow (BIAS) bigger and better than ever, organisers say.
Yousif Mohamed Mahmoud, the airshow’s director general, said he hoped the “boutique” event being held 13-15 November 2024 would tap into the region’s thriving aerospace sector.
“The Middle East, and particularly the Gulf states, are leading the forecasts for growth of passenger traffic, airlines operating, numbers of flights – the strongest development is coming in this region,” he told FINN.
“With Bahrain, we will give more insight into the business and the development and the challenges that are happening for the future.
“It’s a good opportunity for people to meet and network with international companies, with suppliers, and with manufacturers.”
Mahmoud added: “You can’t predict too much in this region, but I think we are going to have a bigger show than last time.”
The BIAS director general was speaking last week from the Dubai Airshow in neighbouring UAE, which saw hundreds of aircraft orders from global carriers.
Bahrain Airshow 2024
Mahmoud said Bahrain was working with Dubai to enhance the entire Gulf aviation industry.
“We are not competing with the Dubai Airshow, we are ‘completing’ each other,” he said. “And each airshow has a different kind of business: Dubai is a bigger market, and Bahrain is a boutique show which has considerable depth when it comes to meetings and hospitality.”
Following the success of the first instalment of the conference in 2022, BIAS is working with industry leaders to build the show’s thought leadership conference programme in 2024.
BIAS is curating the 2024 programme, which is focused on key challenges and opportunities in the industry, in partnership with Manama Air Power Symposium, Kallman Worldwide and other key partners, including NSSA.
The programme will feature four forums: airlines and airports, space, defence, and diversity and inclusion.
Topics will include sustainability and technological innovation, advancements around SAF emerging in the EMEA region, demand for investment in infrastructure, international collaboration for sustainable space operations such as active debris removal, commercial space launches in the Middle East, accelerating gender equality in the sector and the contribution to future workforce challenges.
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