Aviation Africa ready to take-off in Abuja tomorrow

At the heart of the discussions will be what lessons have been learned from other parts of Africa that has enjoyed growth success - and what are the challenges ahead.

Ato Girma Wake, the former CEO of Ethiopian Airlines and more recently chairman of Ethiopia's national carrier as well as chairman of RwandAir. Recognised as the doyen of Africa's airline business, Wake is credited with driving the success of Ethiopian, guiding Rwanda with its plans for an airline and has brought international operating standards to partners over the decades. He will share his thoughts in a frank one-to-one armchair chat with African Aerospace's Alan Peaford.

Meanwhile the West Africa ambitions are being driven forward with a new national carrier for host country - but this is not without its challenges - and its critics. Leaders from Nigerian regional and domestic carriers such as Ibom Air, Air Peace and Overland Airways will discuss how they see the new changes and what it means for the region's air passengers.

Panel CEOs include Mesfin Tasew, CEO, Ethiopian Airlines; Yehia Zakaria Ismail, Chairman & CEO, EgyptAir Holding Company; Edmund Makona, CEO, Air Zimbabwe; and Eduardo Fairen, CEO, TAAG Angolan Airlines, who will share thoughts with aviation journalist Mark Pilling about the lessons learned and potential for Africa to take a place on the international stage.

Cargo markets are also explored as moderator Derek Nseko, Founder & CEO, Airspace Africa talks to Sanjeev Gadhia, CEO, of Afica's largest freight carrier Astral Aviation; Abel Alemu, managing director, Ethiopian Cargo; Kamil Al Alwadi, Regional Vice President, IATA Martin Gitonga, Head of Network Planning and Alliances, Kenya Airways and looking into the future for last mile deliveries Catherine Odiase, general manager, Zipline Nigeria presents on how the UAS operator is working across Africa on deliveries across difficult terrains.

Airports, MRO providers, Regulators, Business Aviation operators, Finance providers and major manufacturers Airbus, Boeing and Embraer all add to the debates across the two-day event.