General Opening of the 47th Annual General Meeting of the Arab Air Carriers Organization
18 November 2014
Under the Esteemed Patronage of HH Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President, Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, Chairman & Chief Executive Emirates Airline & Group, and Chairman Dubai Airports
General Opening of the 47th Annual General Meeting of the Arab Air Carriers Organization
Under the Esteemed Patronage of HH Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President, Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, Chairman & Chief Executive Emirates Airline & Group, and Chairman Dubai Airports, the Arab Air Carriers Organization (AACO) 47th Annual General Meeting (AGM) will be held between 18-20 November at the Intercontinental Dubai Festival City hotel, by kind invitation of this year’s AGM Chairman, Sir Tim Clark, President of Emirates Airline and with the participation of more than 300 Arab and global aviation industry experts.
The AGM’s general opening ceremony will take place tonight at "Mina A'Salam" - Madinat Jumeirah where the AGM Patron, AGM Chairman, and Mr. Abdul Wahab Teffaha, Secretary General of AACO, will deliver the opening speeches. The AGM working sessions will be held tomorrow on 19 November at "Al Ras Ballroom" at the Intercontinental Dubai Festival City hotel.
The Working Sessions of the AGM will feature AACO Secretary General’s report on the State of the Industry, a Speech by Eng. Mohamed Sherif, Director General of ACAC about common issues between AACO and ACAC, and a speech by IATA about industry issues. This will be followed by a closed session dedicated for AACO members to discuss and decide on internal and administrative issues related to AACO’s work and common strategic issues between members.
The afternoon session of 19 November will witness a discussion panel to be moderated by Mr. Richard Quest, CNN's foremost international business correspondent and presenter, with the participation of several esteemed speakers discussing their views on the future of Arab airlines and whether protectionism policies practiced by some states really protect their airlines.
The AGM will conclude its work on the same day with a press conference to be held at "Al Ras Ballroom" at the Intercontinental Dubai Festival City hotel during which the AGM Chairman and AACO Secretary General will be available to answer questions of the media.
AACO is considered to be one the oldest air transport organizations and one of the foremost active organizations in the Middle East and North Africa. Established in 1965 by the Arab League of States and headquartered in Beirut, AACO gathers Arab member airlines and aims to promote cooperation, quality and safety standards among its carriers. AACO as well works on enhancing human resources working in air transport through various training courses provided by AACO’s regional training center based in Amman, with a branch in Cairo. In addition, AACO coordinates extensively with regional and international organizations such as ICAO and IATA.