The Supreme Organizing Committee of the Bahrain International Airshow (BIAS 2018), announced the latest developments pertaining to the 5th edition of BIAS, held under the patronage of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, King of the Kingdom of Bahrain, and under the supervision of His Highness Shaikh Abdullah bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Personal Representative of His Majesty the King and the Chairman of BIAS’ Supreme Organizing Committee, Bahrain News Agency (BNA) reported.
On this occasion, His Highness Shaikh Abdullah bin Hamad Al Khalifa (photo), Personal Representative of His Majesty the King and Chairman of BIAS’ Supreme Organizing Committee commented: “The Bahrain International Airshow is the Kingdom’s largest aviation event and an integral component of our strategy to boost the economic contribution of the aviation industry by attracting foreign investment. The economic impact of BIAS has increased by more than 90% since its inception, firmly establishing it on the global aerospace events calendar.”
“Having witnessed a significant increase in the number of participants, the 5th edition of the Bahrain International Airshow has successfully achieved a 70% growth in overall exhibitors, with participation of international companies having surged by 77% since the 2016 edition. As a result of these figures, the exhibition space at BIAS has increased by 100%, with overall space available now amounting to 9,000 sq m,” he added.
“This year’s edition will also see a 40% increase in the number of dedicated country pavilions, with participation from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and Taiwan. New-time exhibitor numbers have also jumped by 69% (83 out of 120) with the United States, Russia and Romania each having their own pavilions,” Shaikh Abdullah bin Hamad Al Khalifa noted.
With an estimated 110 civil and military aircrafts congregated at BIAS 2018 from across the globe, the upcoming event will host a number of flying and static aircraft displays, with several airlines showcasing their aircraft including Gulf Air, that will be displaying their new Dreamliner Boeing 787 and Airbus A320neo, which is the result of a significant agreement that was signed during BIAS 2016 and which demonstrates an important development for the Kingdom’s aviation industry. The US Air Force, Gulfstream and Sukhoi Civil Aircraft Company will also showcase their aircraft throughout the three-day exhibition.
The show is organized on a biennial basis by the Ministry of Transportation and Telecommunications (MTT) and the Royal Bahraini Air Force (RBAF), in association with Farnborough International.
His Excellency Engineer Kamal bin Ahmed Mohammed, Minister of Transportation and Telecommunications and Deputy Chairman of the Supreme Organizing Committee of BIAS further commented: “It gives us great pleasure to witness such significant growth in the number of participants this year, further cementing the position of the Bahrain International Air Show as the fastest growing in the Middle East, where 11 of the 15 largest companies in the aviation industry will be taking part. We will be hosting Airbus, Bell, Boeing, Bombardier, Embraer, Gulfstream, Leonardo, Rolls Royce, ROSCOMOS, Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) and Thales, and many more companies.”
“As for GCC countries, we are extremely proud of the exceptional participation of KSA and UAE, who will each have their own country pavilion. KSA will have 6 companies participating and the UAE will also have major presence, with approximately 14 companies representing the aviation, engineering and aerospace industries”, he added.
Participants in the 5th edition of the Bahrain International Air show 2018 will also include a number of prominent names in the local aviation industry including Bahrain Airport Company, Bahrain Airport Services, Gulf Air Academy, MENA Aerospace and Texel Air.
The Bahrain International Air show 2018 will take place from 14th-16th November 2018 at Sakhir Air Base from 8AM to 5PM. For more information, visit the official website www.bahraininternationalairshow.com
