Middle-East Sky Painted in Colours of the Aviation Industry

Starting from November 17, the four day biennial Dubai Airshow was officially inaugurated by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of United Arab Emirates(UAE) and Ruler of Dubai, along with His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of UAE Armed Forces. The 2019 edition of the Dubai Airshow (DAS) has been one of the busiest till date with a packed schedule, witnessed by the footfall of over 84,000 trade attendees. With over 161 aircraft on static display and over 1,288 exhibitors, the airshow attested booming sales with the order book on site reaching $54.5 billion by close of business.

An array of prominent conferences offered industry-specific keynotes, Q&A sessions and networking opportunities, attracting huge crowds of professionals. The Global Air Traffic Management (GATM) conference, a unique convention set across two days peaked closely into the future of traffic control, with virtual towers proving to be a particularly hot topic.

With evident impact of technology as well space research on all possible aspects of the industry, exhibits at the show ranged from Dubai Police’s new flying bike for hard to reach emergencies to new products in the medivac field, through to the first commercial space flight suits from Virgin Galactic.

DUBAI AIR SHOW 2019 DID LET THE BIGGEST OF THE PLAYERS HAVE A BALL DURING THE EVENT BUT AT THE SAME TIME, IT ALSO ALLOWED THE FIRST TIMERS LEAVE THEIR MARK. AS MANY AS 100 NEW EXHIBITORS PARTICIPATED IN THE SHOW.

From innovative ideas to significant announcements, the world’s aviation leaders were all seen displaying their capabilities at the Dubai Airshow. With about 80 per cent of the global population located within eight hours of one of the UAE’s airports, Dubai Airshow certainly is one stop that’s been “connecting the aerospace industry”, as was its motto this year. Ending on a high note, the show is set to return from November 14 to 18, 2021.

PAINTING THE SKY

While the exhibits on the ground were exciting enough for the visitors with the latest aircraft on static display from manufacturers such as Boeing, Airbus, Russian Helicopters and many more, the flying displays certainly took the breath away at the airshow. Some of the aircraft that were seen flying during the show included Boeing’s 787-9 Dreamliner, an eye-catching formation of three Chinook, 3 Black Hawk and three Apache helicopters, opening the way for the Emirates A380, soon followed by the UAE’s air display team, Al Fursan, positioned in an arrow formation. UK-based aerobatic team, The Blades was also among the many more manmade birds that served a visual treat for the aviation enthusiasts under in the Dubai sky.

FIRST TIMERS

Dubai Airshow did let the biggest of the players have a ball during the event but at the same time, it also allowed the first timers leave their mark. As many as 100 new exhibitors participated in the show. Among them was Saudi Arabia’s The Helicopter Company, which was also a key event sponsor. EDGE, a group comprising 25 local entities working in five aerospace capability clusters, launched shortly before the show also made its debut.

The Saab GlobalEye was a first-timer too at the show that boasted a detection range of over 300 nautical miles. The multisensor surveillance system monitors air, land and sea and is set for delivery to its first customer in the first half of 2020.

An all-electric racing plane, White Lightning, too made its debut at this year’s airshow.