Aerodrome India 2008 – the 3rd Edition of India’s pioneering and premier Airport Industry Expo & Seminar on  Airport Infrastructure and Security was held during 10- 12 April 2008 at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi, India.

Aerodrome India 2008 was organised by PDA Trade Fairs (PDATF) in association with Society of Indian Aerospace Technologies & Industries (SIATI) and Airports Council International (ACI) & Aeronautical Society of India. Aerodrome India 2008 was supported and Endorsed by Ministryof Civil Aviation, Government of India, Airports Authority of India, The Rotary Wing Society of India. The Aeronautical Society of India, Federation of Indian Pilots and Institute of Aviation and Aviation Safety.

The principle objective of Aerodrome India 2008 was to provide a platform for interaction between manufacturers/service providers of Airport infrastructure and security from around the world with Airport Authorities, Airlines & associated industry professionals in India and the South Asian region.

This platform was conceived to facilitate the conversion of the enormous potential in the Indian civil aviation sector to business.   

The event was organised under the able guidance and direction of a National Advisory Council, headed by Dr. K. Ramalingam, Chairman AAI, the other members of the Advisory council were drawn from the entire spectrum of the civil aviation industry in India. The organising committee headed by Dr. C.G.Krishnadas Nair  supervised the progress of the event periodically through review meetings and regular appraisals.

A professional organizing committee was also formed to oversee the developments and progress of the show on a regular basis. Dr. C. G. Krishnadas Nair, President SIATI and former Chairman, HAL, headed the organizing committee along with the following members.

Chairman:
Dr. C. G. Krishnadas Nair
President, SIATI

Members:
Mr.G.S. Bawa, Jt. G.M & OSD to Chairman, Airport Authority of India
Mr. V.K Yadava,Executive Director- ATM,Airport Authority of India
Mr. B.K. Arora, Executive Director, Operations, Airports Authority of India
Mr. S.K. Kakkar, Executive Director, CNS (Planning), Airports Authority of India
Mr. A. C. K. Nair, Airport Director, Cochin International Airport Ltd,
Ms. Anita Khurana, Director Cargo, AIR INDIA
Mr. N.V. Babu, Managing Director, Minitechs Aerotools (P) Ltd,
Air. Cmde (Retd) J. Varkey, Secretary General, SIATI
Mr . Pradeep Devaiah, Chairman & CEO, PDA Trade Fairs
Mr. Yogesh Srinivasan, Managing Director & COO, PDA Trade Fairs
Mr . Srinivasan. S., President, PDA Trade Fairs
Mr. K. N. Krishna Moorthy, Chief. Convenor – Aerodrome India 2008, PDA Trade Fairs

The unprecedented upsurge in the Indian Civil Aviation scenario necessitated   the creation of a platform that would foster optimum utilization of current technologies/services to ensure a highly integrated airport environment leading to synergy between Industries/Airlines/Authorities resulting in total customer satisfaction at Airports.

Accordingly,  a two and a half days International Seminar was organized concurrently with the Exhibition.  The seminar had over 50 speakers (both National & International) and more than 300 delegates participating, to address the overall theme of the Seminar (viz) SUSTAINABLE STRATEGIES FOR CONSOLIDATION AND GROWTH OF THE CIVIL AVIATION SECTIR, IN INDIA.

The International Seminar organized during AERODROME INDIA 2005, at BANGALORE, revolved around the theme “Integrated Aerodrome Environment: Problems and Challenges” with emphasis on Airport Infrastructure and Security. 

The Seminar organized during Aerodrome India 2006 at Delhi dealt with “Integrated Aerodrome Environment: Developments & Opportunities”, with emphasis shifted towards operational issues;  while this Seminar, during 2008 addressed the much needed “Sustainable Strategies”  towards enabling “Consolidation and Growth”  of the Civil Aviation sector in India.

Topics discussed at the Seminar included Development of Dedicated Cargo Airports and Hubs, Airport Security & Operations, Customer Services at Airports and Airport as an economic gateway, apart from the Plenary Session devoted to “Perspectives on Policy Issues” regarding Civil Aviation and their implementation.
The special feature of this year’s Seminar related to addressing the issues of “CONNECTIVITY” (with participation from respective governments and industry) and “GROUND HANDLING” (policy and its implementation).  The highlight of this year’s seminar was active involvement of the delegates resulting in lively question and answer sessions, throughout the Seminar.

DAY 1 POST LUNCH
A Round Table on “CONNECTIVITY ISSUES”
1630 HRS-1800 HRS

DAY 2
        APRIL 11 2008
Technical Session - II
0930 HRS-1130 HRS
Safety & Security at Airports
Chairman: Dr. C.G. Krishnadas Nair, President, SIATI & Chairman, Organising Committee, Aerodrome India 2008

DAY 2
Technical Session -  IV
1400 HRS to 1800 HRS
SERVICES AT AIRPORT
Chairman:  Mr. S. Bharath, IRS
CMD, Cochin International Airport Ltd.,

DAY 3
     12 APRIL 2008
Technical session - V
 0930 HRS-1310 HRS
Airport as an Economic Gateway
Chairman: Mr. H.S. Bains, Member (P & A), AAI
Co-Chairman:  Mr. M.C. Kishore, Executive Director,
Corporate Affairs, Airports Authority of India

A special National Advisory Council (NAC) consisting of eminent aviation experts and authorities was constituted to guide and lead this exclusive event. The NAC was headed by Dr. K. Ramalingam, Chairman, Airports Authority of India and consisted of the following members.

The Exhibition & Seminar were sponsored by number of leading Airport Infrastructure providers systems & Equipment suppliers, Services Providers and the like. The list of Sponsors are given below:

The exhibition was held in New Delhi and choosing   the venue as New Delhi had a specific purpose of ensuring a  representative visitor profile consisting of decision makers from the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Airports Authority of India and the Airline Community, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) to visit the exhibition.