Written by Nayla Barakat
Manama, November 10 / BNA / The Bahrain International Airshow (BIAS 2022) paved the way to put the travel and aviation sector back on track as it was before the outbreak of the global pandemic.
A senior official at the Ministry of Transport and Communications said, the exhibition witnessed great success in the first two days of the event which brought together industry experts to consider challenges, solutions and exchange.
“Organizing this exhibition is a huge success for Bahrain, and it benefits everyone in the region as well as we have been able to bring the industry back. “And we are building on it for 2024,” said Yousef Mohamed Mahmoud, director of the Bahrain International Airshow.
“The journey of the sixth edition of the Bahrain International Airshow, marking the 10th anniversary of its inception, has been an arduous journey. Over the years we have faced various challenges, be it the financial crisis, or even the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We were able to get the first version of the show with less experience, and then we had some great shows in 2014 and 2016. In 2019 we had a global pandemic of COVID-19, so we had to postpone it to 2022.
After that, the sector most affected after the Corona virus was the aviation sector. So, once again, we had another struggle to bring companies and airlines to the show. So, our journey is actually challenging.”
Mahmoud said, “BIAS is not about the size of the offering, it is about the quality and the product.
A total of 33 countries participate in this air show. The flags of the participating countries from which various delegations and companies are participating in the air show have been raised.
We also have about 127 delegates, plus another 110 military, so we have about 225 delegates total. When we started, we had 23 participating companies, and now we have 186 companies.
“All I can say is that when we first started, there was less knowledge of this event and now, I can say we have matured, we have experience and we have built the experience of our former colleagues in the sector.
BIAS has greatly contributed to the Bahrainization of this sector where most of the employees are Bahrainis. These numbers indicate that growth continues, and we are pleased to host this show successfully.
Our future plan is to keep the industry going, and at the upcoming Bahrain International Airshow 2024 we are once again looking to put on a high quality show.
“The planning is good enough for us at this point and our efficiency for 2024. We’d better not talk about size because my size is very limited in this area. So yeah, we’re happy with what we have, maybe just the quality and industry change in technology to get more involved and players join us. are different.
“Bahrainis are very ambitious, we love to accept challenges and are excited to tackle them. So, this air show that took place today in the Kingdom of Bahrain and came back after a hiatus of four years has a lot of hard work behind it.
The aviation and travel industry has been hit hard by the pandemic and it is very important to revive this industry. The meeting of senior officials of the aviation industry, aviation and companies is a means of dialogue and discussion of what they should do in the coming years. This will also help them discuss the recovery plan that resulted from the pandemic.”
He said the general situation around the world is that the number of passengers has increased but there are enough planes flying between destinations to carry them.
“Also, in the travel industry, a lot of experience has been retired which created a gap in experienced personnel at airports. Therefore, at BIAS, experts brought together from the top of the airline industry can discuss such problems and how to address them.
“Besides bringing in aircraft and other related equipment, we gather people here for seminars and conferences to overcome challenges that the industry may face. We also organize entertainment activities by displaying aircraft in the skies of Bahrain. Overall, BIAS is modernizing the industry to get back to normal life. .
“At BIAS, we always have a purpose to be here, as we have been in the sector for a long time and try to maintain a balance between income and expenses.
“If you go back to the aviation industry, it contributes roughly 8% of GDP to the global economy and more than 200 million people work in this sector all over the world.
“So these 200 million people are multiplied by four more people who are families. We are talking that almost 78% of the population of this planet is earning from the aviation industry. It is a very dynamic sector, and it is impacted and any impact on the sector affects the people themselves, their families and everyone else.”