Egypt's International Air Show and Expo will have to work hard to position itself as an international event, reports Amirah Ibrahim Bad luck, lack of organisation and bad weather marred Egypt's second International Air Show and Expo (Avex) and cast a heavy shadow over the future of the event. Avex was initially delayed for 24 hours owing to dust storms sweeping Sharm El-Sheikh, and then the inauguration of the event was further delayed to allow President Mubarak to attend. Owing to the fluctuating schedule many participants had to leave Sharm El-Sheikh without benefiting from the event. And there were several complaints voiced about the loss of valuable products displayed in the pavilions. Security for the exhibition grounds had been contracted out to a private security firm while Egyptian forces were responsible for air space. There was also a notable information deficit. Activities received no advance publicity, not even on Avex's Web site. One result was that no one attended the signing of the first of only two contracts concluded during the expo. The highlight of the exhibition was the air show. Visitors were glued to the skies three hours every day as they watched international aerobatics teams from England, Jordan, Lithuania and Egypt display their skills. Lithuanian team captain Jurgis Kairy plied the Sharm El-Sheikh skies in his Sukhoi aircraft, displaying skills developed over scores of years while the Egyptian team, Silver Star, performed an amazing aerobatics show flying the K8 advanced trainer. The Royal Jordanian Falcons, who have performed in the UAE, US, France, the UK, Italy and Indonesia, then took to the air. Airbus brought its new A318, the Mini-Airbus, to Sharm El-Sheikh. The new aircraft is six metres shorter than the A320, and lighter by 14 tonnes, the result being that it can fly up to 10 per cent further on the same fuel and will thus be able to service routes the A320 cannot manage. The UAE's Luxury Flight Services, exhibiting for the first time in Egypt, brought two aircraft, the BBJ and GulfStream G300. Visitors were happy to climb on board for a few minutes, enjoy a cup of Arabian coffee and take photos of the interior of the UAE Royal Jet Boeing Business. "We are here to promote our services and products in the Egyptian and regional market," said Ammar Balqr, Luxury Flight Services' marketing manager. "We have identified the Egyptian market as having great potential." The company is co-owned by the Abu Dhabi government and Abu Dhabi Aviation. It operates seven aircraft across Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Africa. Aviation Minister Ahmed Shafiq took the opportunity to invite VIP guests and visitors on a flight to Luxor where he inaugurated the newly built Luxor Airport terminal, capable of receiving seven million passengers annually. "The LE320 million terminal provides advanced services that meet international standards," said Ibrahim Manna, head of the Holding Company for Airports. Manna added that Sharm El-Sheikh Airport has also been upgraded to cope with an expected increase in the number of visitors which currently stands at 4.5 million a year. In a smart move by airport officials participants at Avex were invited to tour the new terminal building. The visit allowed participants to visualise for themselves the result of the airport's development plans. Despite such highlights only two contracts were concluded at Avex, with the Petroleum Aviation Services Company (PAS) purchasing a new Dash-8 Q300 from Bombardier, to be delivered in September, and a Bell 412 helicopter to be delivered in November. "This will take our fleet to 10 airplanes and 27 helicopters," said PAS Chairman Hassan Rashed. Sun Air, Egypt's new charter airline, used the event to announce that it would soon begin operations with the ATR 72- 210. The company plans to expand its fleet to three aircraft, targeting regional routes. The third Avex is scheduled for 2008, plenty of time to iron out organisational snags which will be essential if the event is to attract key international players who, on the current showing, can get far better service in neighbouring countries.
