Aviation Industry Could Return to Some Kind of Normality during the Course of 2021

• President of Emirates Airline has outlined the companys response to COVID-19 and its impact on their future strategy during the opening session of ATM Virtual
• ATM Virtual to take place until Wednesday 3 June

Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 1 June 2020: During the opening session of Arabian Travel Markets inaugural virtual event, ATM Virtual, aviation industry veteran Sir Tim Clark, President of Emirates Airline, has outlined the impact of COVID-19 on the aviation industry, as well as the measures implemented by the company in response to the pandemic.

Speaking during an interview with respected aviation expert John Strickland, Director of JLS Consulting, on the opening day of the virtual event, Sir Tim, said: I don't think in my career I have seen anything like this, it is a huge structural change to our industry. In general terms, we have seen a US$15 trillion torpedo hit the global economy and its crippled many, many sectors, with transportation and leisure just a few of the casualties.

My own belief is there is sufficient resilience in the global economy to take this trauma as long as it doesnt go on for too long. If we can accept there is a finite point where we will see the back of this, with adjustments to the way we go about our lives, the way we go about our business, and our travel aspirations, we will see things moving back to some kind of normality during the course of 2021, he added.

With many fleets around the world grounded and potentially some not coming back, Sir Tim, who has dedicated 35 years to growing Emirates Airline to become the largest long-haul airline in the world and helping transform Dubai into a major global travel hub, also discussed the future of the airline.

Planning for resumption is quite complicated, needless to say, we have a 24/7 watch on it as countries start to relax their access requirements but I see some difficulties as I dont believe they will open at the pace we would like. I think there will be a degree of what they started to call the bubble effect, i.e. countries selecting other countries that are relatively COVID free and therefore allowing services between those countries.

Weve seen the beginning of this and until we get much more clarity on quarantine, flight protocols and how airports are going to handle these passengers when they eventually get moving, its still early days in terms of understanding what is going to happen.

Speaking more generally about the aviation industry, Sir Tim concluded by outlining the important role that governments play around the world, understanding what the airline industry requires, he said:

The aviation business is in a critical and very fragile state at the moment and needs all the help it can get. Access, getting passengers and freight moving again, not necessarily to the levels pre-COVID, but at least getting things going to give the cash lifelines they need, otherwise Im not optimistic that some of the carriers here today, having already been significantly bailed out, will get through the next few months.

The aviation industry will be a recurring theme throughout the three-day virtual event and will include an interview with aviation heavyweight, CEO of Wizz Air, Joszef Varadi on Wednesday 3 June.

Varadi is set to discuss the measures implemented by the budget airline which has enabled it to continue operating during the pandemic. He will also be discussing the forthcoming opening of Wizz Airs subsidiary in Abu Dhabi, in partnership with Abu Dhabi Developmental Holding Company.

In addition, a webinar by Cirium, the data intelligence experts, will showcase the power of analytics in supporting business performance.

The webinar, which takes place on the final day of ATM Virtual, will be led by Ciriums Paul Trewin and Seera Groups Data Vice President, Louise Blake. The webinar, which will be focused on the aviation industry, and will utilise Ciriums years of analytical experience, will highlight the power of analytics and outline new ideas for incorporating analytics into team performance.

ATM Virtual features a range of comprehensive webinars, live conference sessions, roundtables, speed networking events, and one-to-one meetings.

Highlights on day two will includeThe Virtual ATM China Forum, which will focus on the recovery of outbound travel fromChina, taking place from 11am 12pmGST (8am 9am BST) and the debut Travel Forward Virtual event, featuring the Catapulting Resilience Through Technology and Analytics session.A live webinar titled Bouncing Back: Tourism Strategies for the Future will see a range of industry experts discussing how the long-term tourism development strategies implemented by the regions governments will become a catalyst for recovery when travel patterns adjust to the new norm.

Travel Forward will include Facebook-led session, Conversational Commerce for Travel brands, which will look into the potential of conversational commerce and how it can help businesses keep their customers connected and engaged. The day will conclude with the Technology and the New Normal session, hosted by Uber, which will discuss how technology can support businessespost-Covid-19.

There will also be a series of independently moderated, roundtables designed to discuss emerging hot topics such as domestic travel, luxury travel trends, corporate travel, food travel and tourism recovery plans. Day two will kick-off with theEffects that Covid-19 could have on food-driven travellive webinar from 10am 10.45am GST (7am 7.45am BST),moderated by Caterer Middle East editor Simon Ritchie.

Other round tables are available on demand and include TheFuture of Corporate Travel led by Breaking Travel News; The Changing Face of Luxury Family Travel hosted by Destinations of the World News; The New Normal: What the Future Looks Like for the Hotel and Tourism Industry and Middle East: The New Asian Source Market both by Trav Talk Middle East, as well as TTN Middle Easts Challenges Faced Today by the Travel Providers and Latest travel updates, projections and upcoming trends and focus on near-, mid- and long-term travel prospects.

Also, key travel editors and leading travel and tourism experts have writtenblogson topical subjects spanning not just regional but international industry verticals.

The Ministry of Tourism Saudi Arabia and the Italian Tourist Board are both Gold sponsors of ATM Virtual.

ATM Virtual takes place from today, Monday 1st to Wednesday 3rd June 2020. To register for the event, please visit: atmvirtual.eventnetworking.com/register/

About Arabian Travel Market (ATM)

Arabian Travel Market (ATM), now on its 27^th year, continues to be the focal point for the Middle Easts resilient and ever-changing travel and tourism landscape and prides itself on being the hub of all travel and tourism ideas providing a platform to discuss insights on the ever-changing industry, share innovations and unlock endless business opportunities. While the live show has been postponed to 16-19 May 2021, ATM will keep the industry connected by running ATM Virtual from 1-3 June 2020 featuring webinars, live conference sessions, speed networking events, one-on-one meetings, plus so much more keeping the conversations going and delivering new connections and business opportunities online. www.arabiantravelmarket.wtm.com.

Next events: ATM Virtual: Monday 1^st to Wednesday 3^rd June 2020

Live ATM: Sunday 16^th to Wednesday 19^th May 2021 Dubai #IdeasArriveHere

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Reed Exhibitions is a leading global events business. It combines face-to-face with data and digital tools to help customers learn about markets, source products and complete transactions at over 500 events in almost 30 countries across 43 industry sectors, attracting more than 7 million participants.

Our events, organized by 35 global offices, leverage industry expertise, large data sets and technology to enable our customers to generate billions of dollars of revenues for the economic development of local markets and national economies around the world. Reed Exhibitions is part of RELX, a global provider of information and analytics for professional and business customers across industries. www.reedexhibitions.com

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Our events are market leaders in their sectors, whether it is global and regional leisure travel trade events, or specialist events for meetings, incentives, conference, events (MICE) industry, business travel, LGBTQ+ travel, luxury travel, travel technology as well as golf and spa travel. We have over 35 years experience in organising world-leading travel exhibitions. www.reedtravelexhibitions.com

About World Travel Market

World Travel Market (WTM) Portfolio comprises nine leading travel events across four continents, generating more than $7.5 billion of industry deals. The events are:

WTM London, the leading global event for the travel industry, is the must-attend three-day exhibition for the worldwide travel and tourism industry. Around 50,000 senior travel industry professionals, government ministers and international media visit ExCeL London every November, generating over 3.71 billion in travel industry contracts. london.wtm.com

Next event: Monday 2^nd to Wednesday 4^th November 2020 London #IdeasArriveHere

WTM Latin Americaattracts about 9,000 senior executives and generates about US$374 million of new business deals. Taking place in So Paulo, Brazil, this show attracts a global audience to meet and shape the direction of the travel industry. More than 8,000 unique visitors, including buyers and travel agents, attend the event to network, negotiate and discover the latest industry news. latinamerica.wtm.com.

Next event: Tuesday 20 October to Thursday 22 October 2020 So Paulo

WTM Africa launched in 2014 in Cape Town, South Africa. Around 5,000 travel industry professionals attend Africas leading inbound and outbound travel and tourism market. WTM Africa delivers a proven mix of hosted buyers, media, pre-scheduled appointments, on-site networking, evening functions and invited travel trade visitors. africa.wtm.com.

Next event: 2021 Cape Town