Airport Show 2026 to showcase best-in-class ATM technology

A wide range of cutting-edge Air Traffic Management (ATM) and Air Traffic Control (ATC) solutions for the Air Navigation Services Providers (ANSPs) and airport operators will be showcased at the 25th   edition of the Airport Show at the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) from May 12 to 14, 2026. 

More than 150 exhibitors from over 30 countries are set to participate in the show, which is set to attract more than 7,000 visitors from over 30 countries during its three-day run, in addition to 120 hosted buyers.

To be held under the patronage of Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, Chairman of Dubai Airports, Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates Airline and Group, the leading airport industry’s B2B platform will have co-located conferences - Global Airport Leaders’ Forum (GALF), Airport Security Middle East,  Air Traffic Control (ATC) Forum, and Women in Aviation (WIA) Middle East Conference. This year’s ATC Forum will be the 9th successive edition. 

Airports in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) are spending millions of dollars to tectonically transform the ATM and ATC as these domains are coming under heavy beneficial impact of the new technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML) and Big Data.

Aiming to enhance safety, efficiency, and performance levels, airport operations digitalisation is progressing rapidly to handle the increasing number of global passengers, which is expected to reach an all-time high of 5.2 billion in 2026 and 17.7 billion by 2043, the year when the total number of aircraft movements is projected to reach 149 million. In 2026, passenger traffic in the Middle East region alone is expected to exceed 240 million.

The high-density air traffic levels have been prompting the airports in these three regions to massively invest in the integration of AI technologies and Big Data solutions into their ATM systems to continuously analyse the air traffic patterns, aircraft spacing, and airspace safety, among other tasks.

The Middle East region, home to 110 airports and one of the world’s fastest-growing air travel corridors, has been proactively modernizing its ATM/ATC infrastructure through acquiring advanced digital solutions to be at the cutting-edge of the highly competitive business.

May Ismail, Event Manager at RX Middle East, organisers of the Airport Show, remarked: “New technologies are being utilised in the ATM domain to enhance safety, efficiency, and capacity.  Their AI and Big Data integration will improve the safety and reliability, and transform the ATM into an intelligent, adaptive, smarter, and safer system. The Airport Show-2026 will showcase the best of ATM/ATC offerings from across the world, for the Middle East and other nearby regions to benefit.” – TradeArabia News Service