13th Dubai Airshow kicked off
About 1,000 exhibitors from the global civil aviation and military aviation industries and 60,000 trade visitors will take part in this year's airshow making it double of the size in 2011 and the biggest Dubai Airshow ever.
The event is held for the first time at the exhibition venue of Al-Maktoum International Airport, also known as Dubai World Central, which currently is capable of 7 million passengers per year but upon completion after 2020 will be the biggest in the world, capable of 160 million passengers annually and 12 million tons of cargo.
Canadian firms, a total of 32, top the ranking of growth in participation in the airshow, 48 percent up from in the previous one. China posts a 15 percent growth with 25 companies taking part.
This year's Dubai Airshow, the biggest for the civil and military aviation industry in the Middle East, is held amid a strong rebound of civil aviation in the Middle East. According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the Middle East's passenger traffic growth has outperformed constantly all other regions in the world throughout the year.
Rumored deals include 100 Boeing 777 jetliners which Dubai's Emirates Airline is allegedly going to order for 32 billion U.S. dollars, as well as 30 Boeing 787 "dreamliner" aircraft 30 Airbus A380 "superjumbos" eyed by Abu Dhabi's Etihad Airways.
At the last airshow in 2011, the total orderbook of all plane and aviation-related purchases reached 63.3 billion dollars.
The 5-day Dubai Airshow 2013 will go through Thursday, Nov. 21.