Adac will host forum on route development

Abu Dhabi Airports Company (Adac) has announced Routes – The World Route Development Forum will be held in Abu Dhabi in 2012, following the company's successful bid to bring the air transport industry's largest international event to the capital.

The forum is an annual event of the air service development industry, which brings together airlines, airports and tourism authorities and provides opportunities to highlight route opportunities for carriers and host airports, as well as identifying areas for ongoing business development.

Khalifa Al Mazrouei, Chairman of Adac, said: "Route development is the lifeblood of any airport, airline and related industries and, with Abu Dhabi International one of the fastest-growing aviation hubs in the world today, we are happy to have been selected to host the world's leading air transport forum and event. The winning bid is a collective achievement for Abu Dhabi as a whole, not just for the aviation sector, and provides an opportunity to showcase the UAE's capital city and the wider emirate to the world."

Mike Howarth, Founder of Routes Development Group, said: "There is always intense competition to host Routes, the annual gathering of the people who make decisions as to where the world's airlines fly.

"Abu Dhabi met all the criteria, it is a new world aviation hub, Adnec [Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Centre ] is now a major player on the international events circuit and the bidding partners led by the airport presented a compelling and powerful case."

The 18th World Route Development Forum is expected to be the largest ever planned, with about 3,500 to 4,000 decision-makers expected to attend. The event runs from September 30 until October 3, 2012.

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