Prosit As Inter Airport Munich Opens

     Even though Oktoberfest—the biggest public festival in the world—left the city for another year a few days ago, rest assured, there is no shortage of beer in Munich. They wouldn’t have it any other way.
     In place of Oktoberfest, the biggest airport gathering of its kind kicked off Tuesday (October 9), as 600 exhibitors from 30 countries toasted the start of Inter Airport Europe.
     In the cargo spotlight of the giant tradeshow are firms including VRR, the Dutch container manufacturing company; Miloco, a French company specializing in repair of air freight containers and machinery; and Smiths Heimann, a global airport security technology company.
     The event is seen as the international marketplace for products from all sectors of the airport industry including passengers; baggage and aircraft handling; security; freight handling; IT and software; construction and terminal design.
     “The economic outlook for the airport sector is thoroughly positive,” said Mack Brooks Exhibitions chairman Stephen Brooks, in his opening remarks.
     The company organizes the event.
     “Over the last two years air traffic has continuously increased, and according to recent forecasts by ACI, an average 4% annual growth is predicted for the next 20 years.
     This means that by 2025, over 9 billion passengers a year will use the world’s airports.
     Freight operations will see an average growth of 5.4% annually in the same period.
     “This outlook means that airports, international as well as regional, have to face the challenge of coping with the demands of ever increasing passenger numbers and higher freight volumes in order to succeed in the long run,” he continued.
     “With their innovative equipment and technologies the exhibitors here at Inter Airport Europe offer ways and solutions to target these challenges,” Mr. Brooks said.
     The quality of the participants and the attendees is unparalleled, says Tom Diamond, an exhibitor from Scarecrow Bio Acoustics System, a U.K. based supplier of bird control products for airports and industry.
     "It's fantastic," Mr. Diamond said. "We do a lot of networking at this event.
     “The whole industry meets here, and we'll be at Inter Airport no matter where they hold it."
     He said business was booming and he was surprised at the number of walk ins interested in their products.
     It’s fitting in a way that the event is being held at Munich, Germany’s second largest airport.
     Munich is a lot younger and has room to grow, compared to its Hessian cousin, Frankfurt Airport.
     “Munich Airport is growing faster than almost every major European hub currently,” said Michael Kerkloh, (pictured above) Munich’s chief executive during the opening ceremony.
     “The key to sustainable growth lies in many of the technological advances and innovations on offer by many of the equipment and service providers.”
     “(The event) underscores Munich Airport’s reputation as an ambitious, high-tech champion of new airport technologies and operational innovations,” Mr. Kerkloh said.
     Organizers expect more than 12,000 visitors over the course of the event, which ends Friday.
George Frey