Partner Article

Hamburg to host global aviation convention this summer

The Hamburg Convention Bureau GmbH (HCB) has worked with its aviation cluster to attract one of the most important international conferences for civil aviation to the city. The 138th Slot Conference of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the global trade association for the airline industry, will be held in Hamburg from 21 to 23 June 2016. Around 600 experts from the aviation industry are expected to attend the biggest of the IATA events, which will take place at the CCH – Congress Center Hamburg.

It is the second event of this renowned umbrella organisation to be hosted in Hamburg following the World Passenger Symposium in 2015. The IATA’s 138th Slot Conference aims to create a forum for allocating slots at fully coordinated airports, with the northern winter schedules to be discussed and assembled at the conference.

The Hamburg Convention Bureau (HCB) helped to attract the event to the city by procuring the CCH as the conference venue and supporting the organisers to obtain hotel capacity and sponsorship. In addition, the HCB organised and conducted site inspections, and obtained a letter of intent from Hamburg’s First Mayor Olaf Scholz. In close collaboration with the HCB, the Hamburg Aviation cluster was responsible for integrating all relevant aviation partners from the region.

Thorsten Kausch, managing director of the Hamburg Convention Bureau GmbH (HCB) and Hamburg Marketing GmbH (HMG), comment: “The IATA’s Slot Conference confirms Hamburg as a major player in the international aviation industry. This event allows us to showcase the city and aviation cluster to opinion leaders and decision-makers.”

Frank Horch, Hamburg’s Minister of Economics, Transport and Innovation, explains: “In the aviation industry word has spread that Hamburg, the world’s third largest aviation location, is an excellent place for establishing valuable contacts, for initiating collaborations and for exchanging knowledge.”

Dr Franz Josef Kirschfink, managing director of Hamburg Aviation, adds: “The Slot Conference is one of the most important international conferences for civil aviation in 2016 and is taking place in one of the world’s most important civil aviation locations – Hamburg. The fact that we have been awarded the contract for two IATA conventions within a short period of time demonstrates the extent to which our location and our established industry network are considered highly convincing.”

“We are looking forward to the opportunity to present the business benefits of Hamburg and the region to the many international airline representatives. This event will allow us to play an even bigger role in their route development,” says Michael Eggenschwiler, CEO of Hamburg Airport.

With more than 40,000 highly qualified professionals, Hamburg is one of the world’s biggest locations for civil aviation. More than 300 suppliers and various institutions from the realms of technology and science contribute to Hamburg’s aviation expertise – in addition to the two industry giants Airbus and Lufthansa Technik as well as Hamburg Airport. Businesses, universities, associations, the Hamburg Ministry of Economics and other regional partners have joined Hamburg Aviation cluster to advance Hamburg as an aviation location. Together they have one goal: to integrate research and development in order to launch quality products and services for future air travel that are good for passengers and set standards in terms of resource conservation.

Hamburg Aviation cluster focusses on five product segments: development and construction of aircrafts and aircraft systems; development and construction of cabins and cabin systems; optimisation of aviation services; increasing the efficiency of air transport systems; as well as aviation-related information and communication technologies. In 2008, the Hamburg Aviation cluster was awarded the title of Leading-Edge Cluster by Germany’s Federal Ministry of Education and Research. In 2014, the European Commission’s ECEI initiative honoured Hamburg Aviation with its gold label for being one of the most well-managed clusters in Europe.

The 138th Slot Conference of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) takes place in Hamburg from 21 to 23 June 2016. This follows the fifth World Passenger Symposium (WPS) of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) – the international umbrella organisation for airlines –held in Hamburg from 20 to 22 October 2015.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Emma Ward .