Exhibitors keep faith in logitrans in its 10th year

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Exhibitors have kept faith in the logitrans tradeshow as it celebrates its tenth anniversary despite the difficult situation in Turkey.

Logitrans will take place from 16 – 18 November 2016 at the Istanbul Expo Center, very close to Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport, the largest airfreight hub in the region.

Organiser Messe Muenchen says that despite the difficult situation in Turkey, very few exhibitors have cancelled and it has gained new companies including Qatar Airways.

Messe Muenchen member of the management board, Gerhard Gerritzen says: “Yes, we have had some cancellations. But on the other hand a high percentage of our established exhibitors are keeping faith with us. And we are even attracting applications from new international exhibitors.”

“We are especially upbeat about the air cargo section, which is developing very well. For example, Qatar Airways is taking part, the first of the Gulf airlines to exhibit at logitrans, and that is further increasing the international scope of the show.”

The 2015 show (opening ceremony pictured) welcomed over 15,000 participants from 54 countries and 220 exhibitors from 22 countries.

It also welcomed the PeriLog Conference for the first time to discuss the fresh produce market. Turkey exports over 3.5 million tonnes of fresh produce a year with around 17 per cent going to the Middle East.

At this year’s show, there will be national pavilions for Germany, Austria and France, while a number of Turkish companies will be exhibiting, with representatives from other countries including Belgium, Finland and Poland.

The airfreight sector will be represented by prestigious companies including Turkish Cargo, Lufthansa Cargo and Pegasus Cargo, who will be joined by Qatar Airways Cargo for the first time.

This sector is continuing to grow as construction for the new Istanbul airport continues, which will be the world’s largest airport when it becomes operational in February 2018.

The new airport, which is being built in the Arnavutköy district on the European side of Istanbul, and will relieve congestion at the existing hubs of Ataturk and Sabiha Gokcen. Ataturk will be closed down when the new airport is operational as its location within the city of Istanbul means there is no room to expand. The new airport will be built and opened in phases and will have six runways when it is completed, which should be before 2030.

The Cargo/Logistics Center will be built over an area of 1.4 million square metres during the first phase, and expanded to 1.6 million square metres in later phases.

It will offer up to six million tonnes of capacity in later phases and facilities will include parking for up to 30 widebody freighters simultaneously.