PR95208

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, March 29, 2022, /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/--

Global leaders will attend the Inaugural 'Future Aviation Forum' 9th May 2022

in Riyadh

Global aviation leaders will unite in Riyadh for Saudi Arabia's first-ever

Future Aviation Forum. The two-day event, happening May 9th, will unite leaders

from the public and business sectors, international CEOs, and regulators to

shape the evolution of international air travel and drive forward solutions in

a post-pandemic world.

Hosted by the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA), the Forum will

feature more than 120 speakers, with over 2,000 attendees and representatives

from every continent expected to attend. Delegates are invited to attend 40

sessions, focusing on three core thematic pillars: passenger experience,

sustainability, and business recovery post-Covid.

"The Future Aviation Forum will be a pivotal moment for the global aviation

sector. We will bring together the brightest minds from around the world to

forge solutions for how the sector can recover from the Covid-19 pandemic,

transform the passenger experience, and invest in innovations that will lower

carbon emissions and reduce environmental impact," said Saleh bin Nasser

Al-Jasser, Saudi Arabia's Minister of Transport and Logistics.

Saudi Arabia's transport and logistics sector, a major pillar of the Vision

2030 economic transformation plan, is undergoing rapid development. The Kingdom

aims to generate 356 billion SAR – or just under $100 billion USD – in

investment into its aviation sector by 2030 to make Saudi Arabia a global

aviation hub. GACA's National Aviation Sector Strategy (NASS) aims to increase

air connectivity to 250 destinations, reaching 330 million passengers, and to

double air cargo capacity to 4.5 million tons. The Kingdom also has plans to

launch a new national airline to complement its existing national carriers,

Saudia, Flynas and Flyadeal, and to build a major new international airport in

Riyadh, in addition to eight new regional airports.

GACA is coordinating closely with the International Civil Aviation Organization

(ICAO), the Montreal-based UN agency responsible for fostering the planning and

development of the air transport industry globally. ICAO Council

President Salvatore Sciacchitano said the Forum comes at a critical time for

the global aviation sector.  

"Global cooperation across the aviation sector is needed now more than ever. We

must work together to build greater resilience to future health crises, to

rethink and modernize every step of the passenger journey, and to ensure the

sustainability of aviation in the face of the climate emergency. I look forward

to the coming together of the industry's top leaders in Riyadh at the Future

Aviation Forum, where we can collaborate to drive the ambition, innovation and

policymaking needed to ensure a promising future for the industry," said

Sciacchitano.

As part of the broader transformation of its aviation sector, Saudi Arabia is

also moving towards corporatizing its airports. Earlier this year, GACA and

Matarat Holding Company announced the completion of an institutional

transformation of 25 of the Kingdom's airports. This included the creation of

the Airports Cluster 2 Company, which will manage and operate 22 airports,

bringing oversight for construction, operation, and management under one roof.

The goal is to improve service, integrate international best practices in

airport management and increase competitiveness. Investment and commercial

opportunities in the sector, including airports, freight, catering, maintenance

and ground services, will be opened to local and foreign investors in the near

future.

"The scale of opportunity for the aviation world in Saudi Arabia is

unprecedented. The Future Aviation Forum is an opportunity to participate from

the outset in Saudi Arabia's rapid emergence as the Middle East's preeminent

aviation hub," said GACA President Abdulaziz Al-Duailej.

Al-Duailej said he hopes the Future Aviation Forum will facilitate business

deals and mobilize the investment needed to propel the industry into the future.

"The Forum will drive business deals and mobilize funding for innovation to

make the industry economically and environmentally sustainable. We invite key

players from the aviation world to Saudi Arabia so that together we can drive

solutions that will allow the global sector to thrive in the years to come."

You can find all the news of the General Authority of Civil Aviation in the

media center on our website

[https://gaca.gov.sa/web/en-gb/page/gaca-media-center ].

SOURCE: General Authority of Civil Aviation