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Under the Patronage of the Egyptian Ministry of Civil Aviation, the 51st Annual General Meeting of the Arab Air Carriers’ Organization (AACO), will be held between 5 and 7 November 2018 at “Royal Maxim Palace Kempinski Hotel”- Cairo, by kind invitation of Capt. Ahmad Adel /Chairman & CEO of EgyptAir Holding Company and Chairman of the 51st AGM, with the participation of more than 300 Arab and global aviation industry experts.

The AGM’s general opening ceremony will take place tonight at the Citadel "The Police Yard" where the Patron of the AGM or his representative shall deliver the opening speech of the AGM. The AGM Chairman, Capt. Ahmad Adel, and AACO Secretary General, Mr. Abdul Wahab Teffaha will also deliver speeches at the opening.

The AGM working sessions will be held tomorrow on 6 November at "Excelsior Ballroom” at the “Royal Maxim Palace Kempinski Hotel”. The Sessions will feature AACO Secretary General’s report on the State of the Industry, a speech by the Arab Civil Aviation Organization’s Director General, Eng. Abdennabi Manar, and a speech by IATA’s Director General and CEO, Mr. Alexandre de Juniac.

The AGM will also hear about Disaster Response and Humanitarian Crises from Mr. Steven J. Smith, President and CEO of AIRLINK. AACO invited AIRLINK to this year’s AGM as it is a rapid-response humanitarian relief organization that links airlines with pre-qualified nonprofits. The organization has helped people around the world by mobilizing the aviation community to ensure emergency supplies and relief workers reach those impacted by natural disasters and other humanitarian crises around the globe.

These 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 on common strategic issues.

The afternoon session of 6 November will witness a presentation by Mr. Chris Tarry, Director and Chairman of CTAIRA, on challenges and opportunities of Arab carriers. It will be followed by the CEOs’ Panel which is a discussion panel gathering Chief Executive Officers and decision makers on strategic issues in the aviation industry. The panel will be moderated this year by Mr. Michael Bell, Senior Client Partner in Korn Ferry. Panelists participating in the session are:
1.    Mr. Henrik Hololei / Director General for Mobility and Transport/ European Commission
2.    Capt. Sameh EL Hefni / President of Egyptian Civil Aviation Authority
3.    Mr. Mohamad A. El-Hout / Chairman & Director General / Middle East Airlines
4.    Mr. Adel Redha / Executive VP and Chief Operations Officer/ Emirates Airline

The AGM will conclude on the same day with a press conference to be held at “Excelsior Ballroom” at “Royal Maxim Palace Kempinski Hotel”, during which the AGM Chairman and AACO Secretary General will be available to answer questions of the media.