Bahrain International Air Show 2016 opens today

Under the patronage of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, the Bahrain International Air Show (BIAS) 2016 will open today at Sakhir Air base. 

Ministers from the Middle East and Europe, CEOs of major international aviation companies, air power chiefs and top level executives from global aviation are expected to attend BIAS, which is organised under the supervision of the Supreme Organising Committee of BIAS, chaired by His Majesty’s Personal Representative HH Shaikh Abdulla bin Hamad Al Khalifa and the continuing partnership of the Ministry of Transportation and Telecommunications, the Royal Bahraini Air Force and Farnborough International Ltd.  Speaking about BIAS 2016, Minister of Transportation and Telecommunications and Deputy Chairman of the Supreme Organising Committee for BIAS, Kamal Ahmed said, “This fourth edition of the show is a true indicator of Bahrain’s position on the global aviation map.”

High level delegations from the KSA, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Turkey, the USA, Czech Republic, Georgia, India, Russia, France, Hungary, UK, US, Turkey, and Brazil will be attending the show to take part in scheduled meetings, represented by Ministers of Transport and Economy, Civil Aviation chiefs, CEOs of airline companies and senior executives from government and private sectors.  

Several conferences and networking opportunities are also being held during BIAS 2016 including an ‘Air Transport in the 21st Century Conference’ which will be held on the second day of the show. 

Speakers include Ahmed Al Nemah, Acting Undersecretary for Civil Aviation Affairs at MTT; Akbar Al Baker, CEO of Qatar Airways, and Mohammed AlBinfalah, CEO of Bahrain Airport
Company.  

A seminar on the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) new Standard Safety Assessment (ISSA) programme will be held on the third day, and is expected to be attended by around 60 participants. 

 A Hosted Buyer programme is also being introduced, which will provide participating companies scheduled itineraries in which they can meet prospective clients. 

In addition to the conference programme, the show will host a feature pavilion, which will feature areas for numerous countries as well as additional companies in the aviation industry allowing trade visitors to see their latest products and learn about their services. 

Over 100 aircraft are scheduled to be on display at the trade show.

Daily aerobatic flying displays will feature the Saudi Hawks, UAE’s Al Fursan, India’s Sarang Helicopter Display Team, Mark Jeffries and the Twister Aerobatics team.  The Bahrain Defence Force Special Forces parachute team will also participate.  

More information can be found on www.bahraininternationalairshow.com, and by following the Air Show social media accounts: @BahAirshow (twitter) and @bahraininternationalairshow (instagram).