KUALA LUMPUR: Selangor state government targets to attract 5,000 visitors and 30 exhibitors from local and international companies for its maiden airshow - Selangor Aviation Show (SAS) 2021.
Scheduled to be held between August 12 until August 14, 2021, SAS 2021 will feature static aircraft displays, forum, education open day and exposition featuring key industry players.
Invest Selangor Bhd chief executive officer Datuk Hasan Azhari Idris said the exhibition will bring together the world's best of aerospace and aviation, creating potential business and investment opportunities in both domestic as well as international stages.
"SAS 2021 is dedicated to providing an invaluable opportunity for high-level networking and market penetration prospects with industry players from a range of sectors including commercials, the business aviation, general aviation and helicopters sub-sectors of the aviation industry in Malaysia and potentially in the region," he told reporters after the soft launch of the event here today.
Themed 'Selangor, the Asean Business and General Aviation Hub', SAS 2021 is a networking exposition designed as a catalyst for all relevant stakeholders to dialogue, share knowledge and offerings poised to revitalise the industry in the post-Covid-19 environment.
Hasan Azhari said Selangor is recognised as the main hub for Malaysia's aerospace and aviation industry as it is home to more than 62 per cent of the total aerospace companies and over 20 institutions of higher learning related to the industry.
"Dubbed as the aviation and aerospace growth area with two airports and the highest air traffic in the country, Selangor promises conducive ecosystem, housing over 200 aerospace and aviation-related players which include various activities from electrical parts and services, manufacturing of parts and many other aerospace and aviation activities.
"The industry is strongly supported by a great demand from players in the Asia-Pacific region that also makes up to 30 per cent of the global aerospace and aviation activities and products," he said.
Hasan Azhari said the global aviation industry and airlines are facing extreme financial pressures and are cutting capacity at unparalleled rates in the absence of meaningful passenger demand.
He said airlines still face challengers from a patchwork economic recovery, although more than 300 million of the world's population has been vaccinated.
"It is anticipated that the industry will only be back to pre-pandemic operations by 2022, once the borders are open," he added.
Realising the need to further promote the aerospace industry, Hasan said Selangor Darul Ehsan Aerospace Industry Coordination Office (S-DAICO) was set up in 2020 to coordinate and monitor the Selangor aerospace growth and development as well as promotion under the Selangor Aerospace Action Plan.
S-DAICO is a division under Invest Selangor that acts as the secretariat to the Selangor Aerospace Council and is responsible for the coordination, execution, management and monitoring of the development and promotion of Selangor's Aerospace industry.
"Selangor has outlined about 30 action plans under a Selangor Aerospace Action Plan, to be carried out by both federal and state governments in order to position Selangor as a major hub for the aerospace industry in South East Asia, focusing on maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO).
"This would certainly emphasise the fact that Selangor houses the highest number of aerospace companies located within Malaysia and is accountable for majority of the revenue coming from aviation industry," he said.