News DeskDubai, UAE – The MRO Middle East 2024 and Aircraft Interiors Middle East (AIME) 2024, the leading events for the commercial aviation aftermarket and cabin interiors in the region, kicked off on March 5 at the Dubai World Trade Center. The co-located events, which run until March 6, were inaugurated by His Excellency Khalifa Al Zaffin, Executive Chairman of Dubai Aviation City Corporation and Dubai South.
The events attracted more than 240 exhibitors and 120 airlines from around the world, showcasing their latest products, services and technologies. The events also featured live sessions and workshops on key industry topics, such as capacity issues, fleet expansion, sustainability, connectivity and passenger comfort.
According to Airbus’ latest Global Services Forecast, the Middle East’s commercial aircraft services market will grow by 4.4% annually, reaching $28 billion by 2042. This is higher than the global average growth of 3.6%. The events aim to support this growth by providing a platform for networking, collaboration and innovation among the aviation stakeholders in the region.
Some of the highlights of the first day of the events included:
- Joramco, a leading independent MRO provider in the Middle East, announced a new maintenance agreement with TUI, a European leisure airline group. The agreement covers base maintenance services for TUI’s Boeing 787 and 737 MAX aircraft at Joramco’s facility in Amman, Jordan.
- HAECO, a global MRO service provider, announced the induction of Emirates’ first Airbus A380 aircraft at its airframe facility in Xiamen, China. This marks a new base maintenance contract between HAECO and Emirates, the world’s largest operator of the A380.
- The Go Live! Theater hosted a panel discussion on ‘Capacity Issues on the Horizon?’, where experts from airlines, MROs, OEMs and suppliers shared their insights on how to cope with the increasing demand for maintenance and repair services in the region. Justin ODonnell, Director Technical Operations at Riyadh Air, said that planning ahead and collaborating with partners are key strategies to overcome the challenges of seasonal traffic and rising competition.
- The Future of Cabin Design – Anticipating and Adapting to Emerging Trends’ panel discussed the main trends and challenges in cabin design, such as sustainability, connectivity and passenger experience. Jo Rowan, Associate Director – Strategy at PriestmanGoode, said that designing for different generations and preferences is a major challenge. Daniel Kerrison, Senior Vice President of Inflight Operations at flydubai, said that sustainability is a critical issue that will drive the change in aircraft design in the next decade.
The events are expected to draw more than 6,000 attendees from 97 countries, making them the largest of their kind in the region.
