The Leading Airport Magazine

The 25^th ACI EUROPE General Assembly, Congress & Exhibition takes place in Prague, 24-26 June 2015, with the event all about ‘Airports and the Future of Tourism’.

Michael Cawley – the former COO and Deputy CEO of Ryanair who is now Chairman of Fáilte Ireland, the Irish national tourism development authority, will deliver a much-awaited keynote speech at next month’s ACI EUROPE General Assembly, Congress & Exhibition.

The EU’s new Transport Commissioner Violeta Bulc will give the keynote speech. Following her appointment in November 2014, she has prioritised developing a new aviation strategy for Europe, with the goal of identifying challenges and improving the competitiveness of European aviation on the global stage.

A second much-awaited keynote speech will be delivered by Michael Cawley – the former COO and Deputy CEO of Ryanair who is now Chairman of Fáilte Ireland, the Irish national tourism development authority. Cawley, a central architect of what became Europe’s biggest and most profitable airline, will have seen inside the board rooms of most of the airports present. Consequently, delegates will be sitting on the edge of their seats to hear what the re-invented tourist promotions boss now has to recommend to airports in order to improve their share of tourist dollars. Cawley’s speech will be entitled: “Airports are the gateways to Europe’s tourism markets, but most are also loss-making. Is this inevitable, or are there better ways?”

The EU’s new Transport Commissioner Violeta Bulc will give the keynote speech at the 25th ACI EUROPE General Assembly, Congress & Exhibition, taking place in Prague, 24-26 June 2015.

The Open Skies Debate

Meanwhile, we are delighted to announce the finalised speaker line-up for The Open Skies Debate, which takes place on Friday 26 June from 10:45 to 12:00. Airline pressures to roll back Open Skies policies, in particular vis-à-vis the Gulf, have intensified over the past months. This session will explore the arguments in favour and against, as well as how the outcomes will end up influencing tourism and airports. The Open Skies Debate will be chaired by Peter Harbison, Executive Chairman, CAPA, with panellists including:

Margus Rahuoha, Director Air Transport, DG MOVE, European Commission;
Dominique Thillaud, Président du Directoire, Aéroports de la Côte d’Azur;
David O’Brien, Chief Commercial Officer, Ryanair;
Jim Callaghan, General Counsel and Company Secretary, Etihad Airways;
Karl Garnadt, CEO Lufthansa German Airlines; and
Torborg Chetkovich, CEO Swedavia.