Avex

Think Sharm El Sheikh and you will picture the crystal clear waters of the Red Sea, luxury beach resort hotels and hospitality for which the Egyptians have become famous.

But this November the comparative silence of a breeze through the palm trees or the gentle lapping of waves against a sandy beach will be broken by the roars of jet engines as aircraft from around the world descend onto the Sinai’s largest airport.

For Egyptian civil aviation minister Ahmed Shafik and the president of the Egyptian Civil Aviation Authority, Capt Sameh El Hefny   the dates of November 7^th -10^th are key to whole rebirth of the industry in Egypt.

The occasion is AVEX, Egypt’s own international air show.

“Aviation is growing in importance throughout Egypt and it is a key element of what we are doing,” El Hefny said. “AVEX is a great opportunity for us to show what we are doing and meet people from all over the world who want to be part of it.”

This is the fourth edition of the show and is now being organised by Naseba – the French owned training and business information company that also organises the Doha Aviation Summit from its Middle East base in Dubai.

“There is a real focus on Egypt now,” said Nicholas Watson, the Naseba’s project manager.

“With a mission of making Egypt the gateway to Africa and the Middle East, the Egyptian government is playing a vital role in the development and expansion of the regional aviation sector,” Watson says.  “Couple that with the fact that the population of Egypt is the largest in the MENA region by far, and the country is experiencing a rapid growth in demand for aircraft and you can see why there is such interest.”

Minister Shafik agrees. Talking to Arabian Aerospace at an event recognising the engineering capabilities of Egyptian MRO by the American FAA, Shafik reinforced the point that Egypt ’s role as a regional player could be much greater than it has been.

“We have an experienced industry here,” he said. “We have shared links with the Middle East and the African countries. We really can be the gateway.”

Watson does not see the show competing with the likes of Dubai.

“This is very much a boutique event gathering leading international businesses and buyers related to the small and mid-sized aircraft industry in a unique business-focused aviation expo, where we have exclusive opportunities to showcase aircraft,” he said.

Business aviation is at the heart of the show.

“We have all of the major players coming,” Watson said. “Gulfstream, Bombardier, Dassault, Cessna as well as Boeing and Airbus.  For the airline activities we are looking at regional aircraft and up to the 180 to 200 seats where there is a real demand.”

AVEX  is a four day event with the first two days assigned as purely business days, focused on business networking and deal-making opportunities. The final two days are for more casual approaches and will be packed with public attractions and exciting surprises for the thousands that will make their way to Sharm El Sheikh International Airport for spectacular displays and activities around the show. On show will be display teams such as the Egyptian Flying Stars, Jordan’s Flying Falcons.

Alongside the show there will be the AVEX Awards 2010 recognising success in the industry and the show will also host the African Aviation Unity Summit which aims to unite African aviation businesses.

Chairman of the Egyptian Holding Company for Airports and Air Navigation Ibrahim Ahmed Manaa, the show will be playing its part in developing the business opportunities.  “We have been working with AVEX since its inception and we are pleased to be partnering with the air show for its fourth run. We are confident the air show will outperform its previous successes, taking the aviation industry to a new level. The Africa and Middle East region is certainly proving itself to be a lucrative market in aviation and I believe AVEX will further boost the regions massive expansion,” he said.

Watson believes the location of Sharm also makes a difference. “It is a great destination and a great place to do business. We need the industry to take notice of what is happening in this part of the world. There are issues such as shortage of pilots, MRO facilities and of course a lot more route development as the region opens up and there is an increase in spending on infrastructure.”

Watson said there is a lot of interest from Asia. “This is an exciting time to be involved in this business. We are expecting around 3,000 trade visitors.”