The 6th Asian Ground Handling International conference was a huge success and brought together over 260 senior aviation executives in Cebu, the Philippines. Over 700 one-to-one meetings between airlines, handlers and other service providers were arranged which again confirms the importance of this annual event as both a business venue and networking opportunity that the industry takes full advantage of each year.

The Asian region is still the powerhouse of aviation growth with the LCCs still leading the way and there are certainly handling opportunities in the regional as the conference delegates heard from some of the top level speakers. Concerns over safety on the ramp and training remain an issue with some delegates calling for more regulation on the ramp.

The venue for the 7th Asian Ground Handling International conference in March 2014 will be Bangkok where we expect over 300 delegates to attend and once again the one-to-one meetings and over 30 exhibitors will form an important part of this must attend regional conference.

A record number of international delegates - over 600 -gathered in Milan and made the 2012 conference the largest ever Ground Handling International annual conference.

With over 40 exhibitors with information on everything from self check-in through ticketing solutions, GSE options, baggage location applications and rostering systems, coupled with two days of papers, that included topics ranging from ground damage and smart partnering to the current cargo market and Service Level Agreements, the event offered something for everyone.

With over 1,500 one-to-one meetings organised, it is clear the industry supports fully the GHI approach and organisation which is aimed at mitigating the impact of time spent out of the office for those attending by facilitating handler, airline and supplier meetings during a very full three days. It was a very busy event but delegates came away with positive feelings of time well spent and reinforced the conference as the industry’s “must” attend annual event. A full report will be published in the February 2013 issue of Ground Handling International.

The venue for the 15th annual Ground Handling International conference will be Madrid from 18 – 21 November, 2013.

Please click the Annual Conference 2013 button above for more information.