Experience the EXCITING PROGRAM and many HIGH-LEVEL SPEAKERS

Vienna CESEE Airport Forum covers many of the pressing topics for aviation in Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe, that will be discussed by top aviation leaders and other decision makers of the region! Amongst the confirmed speakers are:

Moderators:

Kathrin Hanzl (Moderator of the Day), Founder & CEO of The PR Avenue

Andrew Charlton, Managing Director at Aviation Advocacy

David Feldman, Managing Partner at Exembela Consulting

Sabire Ipek Demir, Principal Consultant at PA Consulting

Detailed Program:

Please mind: The program is being updated on a regular basis.

This brand-new conference and exhibition will start with a Welcome Reception on Wednesday, starting at 18:00 CET on December 4^th, at Vienna Airport Conference & Innovation Center.

Thursday, December 5^th, Julian Jäger, Joint-CEO of Vienna Airport, will kick off the conference at 09:00 CET and State Secretary for Tourism, Mrs. Susanne Kraus-Winkler, will welcome our esteemed guests. Olivier Jankovec, Director General of ACI EUROPE, will set the scene, and Mario Holzner, Executive Director of The Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies, will give a deeper insight into the economical and geopolitical prospects of the CESEE region in his keynote speech.

Airport CEOs will then debate the key challenges and opportunities for air travel in the region and what it means in term of regional connectivity and growth. Confirmed speakers include, Laila Odina (CEO of Riga Airport), Jiři Poš (CEO of Prague Airport), Jesús Caballero Pinto (CEO of Sofia Airport) and Andrzej Ilkow (CEO of Polish Airports).

As very central actors, airlines operating in the countries of CESEE will also shed light on their view of the development of air travel in the region. Jason McGuinnes of Ryanair, Michael Trestl of Austrian Airlines, Silvia Mosquera of Wizzair and Jiři Marek of Air Serbia will talk about their airlines’ strategies and challenges in Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe.

After the lunch break, the second panel will highlight the role of air travel for European integration in CESEE and bring together political decision makers from both national and EU level, including MEP Andreas Schieder, Member of the Transport Committee in the European Parliament, and Matej Zakonjšek of the European Transport Community.

In the afternoon, the scope of the conference is broadened by the view of investors, featuring Werner Kerschl of IFM, Olga Gorlovskaya of Sociéte Générale, Thierry Déau of Meridiam and Fernando Echegaray del Pozo of Groupe ADP,on the opportunities offered by aviation in the CESEE region as well as possible obstacles for further investment. The first conference day will be wrapped up with formidable speakers to bring the global view to the table, including Joseph Young of Delta Airlines.

On Thursday evening, participants and speakers will be invited to join the VIE Wine Fest in the City of Vienna, where a big variety of aviation leaders and professionals meet up, accompanied by classical Viennese charm and, of course, fine Austrian wine.

Friday, December 6^th, is dedicated to more specialized issues that concern all airports in the region, namely how to keep up Cybersecurity at airports as critical infrastructure (with Susanne Ebm, Head of IT at Vienna Airport) and how to develop an AirportCity (with Wolfgang Scheibenpflug, Head of Real Estate Management at Vienna Airport).

The second day of the conference will provide further opportunities for networking and visiting the exhibition. After the closing remarks by Olivier Jankovec and Julian Jäger, we offer an airport tour for all interested participants.

Finally, we offer a unique tourist programme, the Vienna Weekend Special, on Friday 6^th and Saturday 7^th, including a guided City tour and a visit of a famous Viennese Christmas Market, a visit of the Albertina Museum, and an exclusive visit of the Vienna State Opera, including a performance of Puccini’s “Tosca” on Saturday evening.

Indicative timetable (may be subject to changes):