More than 350 aviation officials and experts from around the world gathered in Bahrain yesterday (May 31) for Routes Middle East and Africa.

Bahrain is the first country in the Middle East to host the international aviation summit, which is being held under the patronage of Transportation and Communication Minister Kamal Ahmed, said a report in the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publicaiton.

The summit, which ends tomorrow, is being hosted by Bahrain Airport Company (BAC), the managing body and operator of Bahrain International Airport (BIA).

Delegates at the event are expected to discuss the future of the aviation industry in the region.

More than 50 airlines, 70 airports and 10 tourism authorities convened in the country for the summit that focuses on the discussion of route development opportunities across the region.

"This event comes at a crucial time for the aviation industry in Bahrain," said Ahmed.

"We introduced a new civil aviation law and regulations in 2013, we have invested significantly in technology and systems across our operations, and we have just embarked on an ambitious modernisation programme for the passenger terminal building at the BIA."

All the major Middle Eastern carriers attended, including Emirates, Etihad, Qatar Airways, Saudi Arabian Airlines and Gulf Air, along with a strong representation from African carriers such as Egypt Air, Ethiopian Airlines and South African Airways.

British Airways, Brussels Airlines, Cebu Pacific Air and Vueling were some of the other major carriers present at the conference.

BAC chief executive Mohamed Yousif Al Binfalah explained that the summit has the potential to attract new airlines to set up roots at BIA.

"On a national level, hosting of Routes Middle East and Africa in Bahrain has the potential to fuel business activity in the local tourism and aviation sectors as we seek to attract new airlines to set up roots at BIA," said Al Binfalah.

"We have a series of one-on-one meetings lined up where we hope to showcase BIA's strengths as a competitive hub in the region and draw more international carriers to support our route development strategy.

"Our overriding objective is to boost air access and capacity at BIA, expand our destination portfolio globally, build traffic and subsequently increase revenues."

Additionally around 1,000 face-to-face meetings to discuss air services will be taking place at the event.

BAC corporate communications manager Hussain Rasool said that with so many meetings scheduled and so little time a special system was devised to allow for the meetings to take place.

"It is like speed dating - airlines and airports sit together for a specific amount of time for them to submit each other's case," he told the GDN.

"For example an airport knows that they have passengers going to the Philippines and they go through different airline - so an airline goes and offers a different opportunity.

"The airline may have one aircraft that they can spare - if they do, a deal may be signed.

"It is not immediate - they discuss it here, open up the channels of communication, they make sure it is a profitable endeavour and then they make a decision on the next schedule which works on seasons." - TradeArabia News Service