inter airport Europe 2015 opens with exhibitor record

The 20th anniversary edition of inter airport Europe, International Exhibition for Airport Equipment, Technology, Design & Services, was officially opened today at the Munich Trade Fair Centre. Until Friday, 9th October 2015, a total of 676 exhibitors from 44 countries will present a unique variety of the latest airport equipment on a total net exhibition space of 30,000 square metres. This represents a 5.5% increase in exhibitors and floor space compared with the previous event. The outdoor area of the show has further grown and for the first time the indoor area stretches across three exhibition halls.

Stephen Brooks, Chairman of the organisers, Mack Brooks Exhibitions, opened the exhibition and greeted the speakers at the ceremony: Dr. Michael Kerkloh, President & CEO Munich Airport and President ADV (German Airport Association), Dieter A. Heinz, President GATE - German Airport Technology & Equipment and Ralph Beisel, CEO ADV (German Airport Association).

Stephen Brooks gave an overview of the history of inter airport Europe which was first held in 1977 at Frankfurt Airport. In its first years, the event was a ground support equipment show, a small get-together for GSE providers and buyers, designed to give them a specialised platform outside the general aircraft exhibitions. Over the years the event evolved into the world’s leading International Exhibition for Airport Equipment, Technology, Design and Services. In 1999, after eleven shows at Frankfurt Airport, inter airport Europe moved to Munich, where it was held in and around a hangar at Munich Airport, until in 2009 the show found its home at the Munich Trade Fair Centre.

In his speech Dr. Kerkloh, CEO of Munich Airport, gave an outlook of the aviation industry: “Aviation is very much a growth sector with an excellent outlook. Global passenger demand is increasing dramatically. Last year, according to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), airlines worldwide carried 3.2 billion passengers. This demand shows no signs of slowing down, and highly respected organizations such as the IATA and the German Aerospace Center (DLR) are forecasting annual growth rates in global air travel ranging from 4.7% to 5.3%. The aircraft manufacturers Airbus and Boeing expect the current global fleet to double in size over the next 20 years.”

Dieter Heinz who has been participating at inter airport since the first show in Frankfurt emphasized the longstanding partnership between Mack Brooks Exhibitions and GATE for inter airport in his speech: “The cooperation with Mack Brooks in all these years proved to be well accepted by all exhibitors and is honoured by all our visitors from around the world - who we welcome with appreciation. We promise to proceed with this spirit and shall present fresh ideas to our customers, the latest technology, high quality in all aspects, not only for GATE, but here in particular, I think, also on behalf of all exhibitors.”

Ralph Beisel focussed on some of the major challenges airports are facing today. Green airports with a neutral carbon footprint as well as noise reduction were key elements if airports wanted to be largely accepted by the population in its surroundings. A further key point for airport operators would be to know more about the passenger’s requirements and the intelligent use of such data for additional revenue of airports.