Bahrain Airport Company ready to welcome industry leaders to inaugural air service development event

28th May, 2015

The inaugural Routes Middle East & Africa will open this weekend in Manama, capital city of the Kingdom of Bahrain. The event, which takes place 31 May – 2 June, will be hosted by Bahrain Airport Company (BAC) managing body and operator of Bahrain International Airport (BIA).

Designed to build on the success of Routes Africa 2014 Routes Middle East & Africa will bring together over 300 delegates from across Africa and the Middle East to meet and discuss route development opportunities across the region.

The event will see representation from almost 50 airlines and over 70 airports along with tourism authorities and other industry stakeholders from across the region. All the major Middle Eastern carriers will be in attendance including Emirates, Etihad, Qatar Airways, Saudia and Gulf Air along with a strong representation from African carriers such as Egyptair, Ethiopian Airlines and South African Airways. In addition several out of region carriers will be in attendance including British Airways, Brussels Airlines, Cebu Pacific Air and Vueling.

Mr. Mohamed Khalil, Chief Commercial Officer at Bahrain Airport Company commented on the event, stating: “We are excited and look forward to welcoming all delegates to the inaugural Routes Middle East & Africa. We have received a tremendous response from the regional aviation community and have secured an exclusive list of high-calibre experts spanning the aviation sector to shed some light on very current topics affecting our industry. There is no doubt this forum will be an incredible knowledge pool and will facilitate plenty of networking opportunities. It has been a pleasure working with the Routes team to bring this prominent industry event to the Kingdom of Bahrain; this is our chance to showcase Bahrain’s capabilities as both aviation leaders and exemplary hosts”

“We are delighted to be holding the inaugural Routes Middle East and Africa in Bahrain,” said Adrian Newton, Group Director Aviation & Technology, UBM EMEA: “Africa and the Middle East are two of the most dynamic aviation markets in the world and this event will bring the wider aviation community to the Kingdom of Bahrain providing our Hosts with the ideal opportunity to showcase their destination, and reaffirm their status as an aviation hub for the region. The decisions taken at Routes Middle East & Africa will be decisive in shaping the future of aviation in the region for years to come.”

In addition to around 1,000 face-to-face meetings to discuss air services taking place at the event, Routes Middle East & Africa will open with the hard hitting Strategy Summit, which will include a welcome address from H.E. Engineer Kamal bin Ahmed Mohammed, Minister of Transportation and Telecommunications for the Kingdom of Bahrain.

Taking place over two days, the Summit will provide a valuable insight into aviation across the region through a series of moderator-led panel discussions and presentations. Confirmed speakers from across Africa and the Middle East include; Adel Ali, CEO of Air Arabia;Paul Byrne, CEO of Flynas; Dr. Elijah Chingosho, Secretary General of AFRAA; Richard Bodin, Chief Commercial Officer of Fastjet and Mohamed Khonji, Regional Director, Middle East Office, ICAO.

For more information on Routes Middle East &Africa, please visit our website.

- ENDS -

Notes to Editors

About Routes

• Routes organises world-renowned airline and airport networking events through its regional and global Route Development Forums. Each year, there is one global event and one regional event in Asia, Africa, Europe, the Americas and CIS respectively. routesonline.com

• Routes was founded in 1995 as part of the Manchester UK‐based ASM Ltd., a consultancy specialising in the field of route development for airports. asm‐global.com. Routes and ASM are part of the UBM EMEA division of UBM plc.

• UBM EMEA connects people and creates opportunities for companies across five continents to develop new business, meet customers, launch new products, promote their brands and expand their markets. Through premiere brands such as MD&M, CPhI, IFSEC, TFM&A, Cruise Shipping Miami, the Concrete Show, the Routes portfolio of events, Airport Cities and many others, UBM EMEA exhibitions, conferences, awards programs, publications, websites and training and certification programs are an integral part of the marketing plans of companies across more than 20 industry sectors.

For further press information please contact:

Victoria Jones

Communications Manager

Routes

T: +44 (0) 161 234 2730

E: [email protected]

Follow us on twitter:@Routesonline, @TheHUBRoutes, @VictoriaRoutes, @NLPROU, @airlineroute

About UBM plc

• UBM plc is a global events-led marketing services and communications company. We help businesses do business, bringing the world’s buyers and sellers together at events and online, as well as producing and distributing news and specialist content. Our 5,500 staff in more than 30 countries are organised into expert teams which serve commercial and professional communities, helping them to do business and their markets to work effectively and efficiently.

• For more information, go to ubm.com; follow us on Twitter at @UBM_plc to get the latest UBM corporate news; follow @UBM for news from all UBM's businesses; follow @UBM for a flavour of UBM from selected members of UBM's Twitterati.

About Bahrain Airport Company

• Bahrain Airport Company is a semi-government company established in 2008 to operate, manage, and develop Bahrain International Airport as sustainable and commercially competitive airport. Driven by a clear vision to provide a friendly and efficient airport for a proud country, BAC has been responsible for elevating the airport’s infrastructure, facilities and services and sustaining operational and commercial excellence, for the benefit of travellers and stakeholders alike.

• BAC plays a central role in facilitating the growth of tourism and aviation sectors in line with the Kingdom’s Economic Vision by continuously seeking for lucrative opportunities to optimize BIA’s revenue streams through a mix of aeronautical and non-aeronautical activities that will ultimately increase BIA’s profitability and solidifying its status as an attractive aviation hub in the region.

For more information please contact:

Afrah Faraj, Corporate Communications, Bahrain Airport Company

Tel: (+973) 17353261;

Email: [email protected] ;

Website: www.bahrainairport.com

Twitter:@BahrainAirport;

Facebook: www.facebook.com/bahrain.Airport;

Flickr: www.flickr.com/bahrainairport/