Oman Airports Attending first Routes Middle East and Africa 2015
The first Routes Middle East and Africa event was held in the Kingdom of Bahrain on the 31st of May to the 2nd of June 2015, located at the Gulf hotel convention center with an attendance of around 350 delegates from Middle-East, Africa, South Asia and Europe. The event was hosted by the Minister of transportation, H.E Engineer Kamal bin Ahmed Mohammed, Kingdom of Bahrain, Ministry of Transportation and Telecommunication. Other VIP’s attended the opening, including Sheikh Aymen Bin Ahmed Al Hosni, CEO of Oman Airports Management Company and Shk. Samer bin Ahmed Al Nabhani, General Manager Commercial Operation. This event reflects the encouragement and support of the Sultanate of Oman towards their neighboring country the Kingdom of Bahrain; reflecting on the historical friendship between the two nations.
Oman Airports Management Company had an exhibitor stand section built at the convention center for the aim of welcoming delegates to experience Omani hospitality and culture. The stand resembled an Omani fort, with a reception presenting Omani Halwa, homemade coffee, frankincense candy, and giveaway bags. Furthermore, the stand viewed pictures of Oman’s breathtaking scenery and short videos about the country on TV screens. The stand had an astonishing impact on increasing the promotion of Oman Airports as a gateway to the Sultanate of Oman, and opened doors for networking opportunities.
Routes Middle East and Africa strategy Summit held in the convention center introduced valuable panels, one to one meetings between airlines and airports as well as talks with top leading experts in the aviation industry. The heated discussions were based on route development and air service topics. The first Panel was focused on “Arab liberalization” and open skies in the Middle Eastern region. Aloke Singh, Chief Officer, Network Planning, Oman Air, was one of the panellist participating, to which he shared valued knowledge and added his perspective on related topic discussed.
Oman Airports are looking forward to build direct routes with African carriers and partner with Oman Air to enhance the Muscat hub connectivity. Oman Airports aims to have a couple of new airlines to start operating to MCT during this year and more is planned to commence in 2016. Oman Airports and Oman Air have a close relationship and are working together to strengthen the transfer traffic via Muscat hub.
Furthermore, The Airline Marketing team was able to schedule important face to face meetings with existing clients and prospects in the Middle Eastern & African region such as Emirates, Etihad, Qatar Airways, as well as European carriers such as British Airways and Lufthansa serving Muscat. Oman Airports’ key target markets are the Middle Eastern, Gulf, and South Asian (India) countries, as well as further connections to all parts of Africa. Oman Airports’ focused in Routes Middle East and Africa event to enhance the relationships with existing airlines, and to develop relations with African carriers for new potential opportunities. Oman Airport’s long term goal is to connect Africa and Asia (specifically China) as well as Asia and Europe. The traffic at Muscat international Airport and Salalah airport is growing double digits, as Oman Airports expect nearly 10 million passengers in Muscat international Airport and up to 1 million passengers in Salalah Airport. Furthermore, Oman Airports is committed to promote the Sultanate of Oman as a destination and attract inbound tourists from by improving the accessibility to Oman.
Oman Airports found Routes Middle East and Africa a successful event, and is looking forward to the upcoming events such as World Routes in Durban, South Africa and World Travel Market (WTM) in London, United Kingdom. The Airline Marketing team is continuously working with local aviation stakeholders to guarantee additional frequencies, new destinations and an outstanding customer experience to all their travelers.