CAIRO - The international airshow AVEX 2010, held earlier this month in the Egyptian resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh, was the focus of ground-breaking events and generated an unprecedented number of visitors, who grew by 117 per cent compared to those of 2008. The show was, moreover, the vemnue for cutting aircraft-purchasing deals worth to the tune ofone billion dollars. During the event, contracts were reached to purchase 37 planes, compared to 21 in the 2008 edition of the same airshow. On the sidelines of AVEX 2010, the Conference of the International Aviation Unity was held, attracting the participation of a select of civil aviation experts from around the world. They concentrated on tackling the latest challenges facing the industry in the region. "Though the global economic crisis had a negative impact on the airline industry, the suffering of this sector has earlier roots,"said Hussein Massoud, the Board Chairman of EgyptAir Holding Company, adding that EgyptAir, the national carrier, presently serves 18 cities in 14 African countries through 114 weekly flights. On the sidelines of this conference, several press conferences were held in which several events were disclosed. Of them was the press conference given by Alaa Ashour, the Board Chairman of the EgyptAir Company for Airlines. Ashour spoke about the developments being experienced by the company at all levels, backing up his talk with figures. "EgyptAir Company for Airlines is a Stateowned company, but is financially independent and incurs all costs of its operation," said Ashour, citing the company's interest in drawing up future plans to satisfy its customers. According to him, there are 28 code-sharing pacts with other's carriers. He added that EgyptAir pays attention to social aspects, noting that it is the official carrier of the Cairo-based Children's Cancer Hospital. At another press conference, Mahmoud Hamed, the Chairman of the EgyptAir Company for Tourism and Free Shops, said that the company had carried out several travel programmes, which impressed customers, the latest of which was a programme pertaining to Hajj pilgrimage trips. He added that Al-Karnak Company for Tourism had participated in several travel fairs and conferences, the latest of which was the WTM Fair in London this month. According to him, Al-Karnak participated in the Arab Tourism Bourse in Damascus, Syria, last month. The company will take part in the international travel fair FITUR in Madrid next January, EMITT in Istanbul, Milan's BIT, the ITB Berlin next March and ATM in Dubai next May. "Preparations are under way to open the new location of the Free Shops at the arrival hall No 3 at the Terminal 1 of the Cairo Airport," he said, adding that free shops would be opened in the Hurghada Airport. At a third press conference, Moustafa el-Gamal, the Chairman of the EgyptAir Company for Air Services, explained the latest projects undertaken by his company and the certificates awarded to the company from IATAand SGS. El-Gamal highlighted the role of the company in AVEX 2010, where it catered to the Egyptian and foreign companies. The EgyptAir Company for Air Services serves 17 airlines at the Cairo International Airport. The company has two catering units at the Sharm el-Sheikh and Hurghada airports offering around 8,000 meals per day. Meanwhile, SMART, a subsidiary of the Egyptian Civil Aviation Ministry that has experienced major development recently, gave a press conference on the fringe of AVEX 2010. The company has sealed a partnership contract with the National Company for the Air Navigation Services to provide calibration services at airports, thereby ending foreign companies' monopoly of this activity. It has also signed a partnership agreement with the Egyptian Company for Electricity Transfer and the Portuguese company Heliportugal for maintaining high-voltage cables. All participants in AVEX 2010 expressed appreciation of the co-operation offered by employees and subsidiaries of the Ministry of Civil Aviation that played a major role in the success of the event. [email protected]
