Press Release

Mohammed Ahli: ATC Forum to help regulators make the aviation exemplarily safe and secure

Technology helps ‘future-proof’ the airspace

2.6 million flights in the Gulf per annum by 2030

Five fastest-growing traffic flows include MENA

ATC market to grow to US$57 billion by 2022

Dubai, January 13, 2020: Glimpses into Air Traffic Control (ATC) modernisation and innovation will be provided to aviation industry stakeholders at the ATC Forum which is returning for its third straight year in June 2020 during the record-setting Airport Show, the world’s largest annual airport industry gathering.

The event is coming at a time when it has been predicted that more than half of the Top 20 biggest traffic flows will include Asia-Pacific, while four will come from the Middle East. Five of the 20 fastest growing traffic flows over the next two decades will also be in the MENA region. The unbridled expansion of airports and their facilities in MENA has kept Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSPs) on their toes to manage the skies efficiently and sufficiently.

ATC Forum is held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority (DCAA), Chairman of Dubai Airports and Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates Airline & Group. The event is co-located event with Airport Show, which features over 375 companies from 94 countries showcasing their innovative products and cutting edge solutions. Both events are organised by Reed Exhibitions, and take place for three days in four spacious halls of Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC), spreading over an exhibition space of over 17,000 square metres.  Focusing on future growth challenges and innovations in Air Traffic Control, ATC Forum will discuss some of the industry’s most pressing issues like the AI/Machine Learning adoption, Regulations for UAV/Drones in controlled airspaces, ATC privatisation, Cyber-attacks on Digital ATC, Remodelling ATC and Big Data and ATM. World class companies showcasing their latest ATC products and solutions at ATC Forum and Airport Show include Black Box, Comm Port Technologies, GuarREC, NG Aviation, Nokia, Honeywell and POLY, amongst many others.

Remarked His Excellency Mohammed A. Ahli, Director General of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority (DCAA) and Chief Executive Officer of Dubai Air Navigation Services (dans): “ATC Forum will help regulators and the stakeholders understand the latest ATM developments and trends to make the aviation industry exemplarily safe and secure.”

Supported by Dubai Civil Aviation Authority (DCAA), Dubai Aviation Engineering Projects (DAEP), Dubai Air Navigation Services (dans) and Global Airspace Logistics (GAL ANS), the events are expected to be attended by over 8,500 professionals from across the Airport and ATM industry.

Air Traffic Control is of tremendous importance in the Arabian Gulf region which is projected to have over 2.6 million flights per annum by 2030. The UAE will be handling about 1.85 million flights annually in 2030, when the average daily flights will reach 5,087. The ATC market is expected to grow globally to US$57 billion by 2022.

Daniyal Qureshi, Group Exhibitions Director, Reed Exhibitions, said “Though air traffic congestion has improved drastically across the region, a global study has projected the number of passengers delayed between one and two hours will grow from around 50,000 each day now to around 470,000 a day in 2040 due to ATC congestions. Airports and passengers desire a safe and expeditious flow of air traffic and ATC Forum will bring global ATC leaders and experts to Dubai to help the region’s authorities ensure they are ready for the projected growth in traffic flows.”