In the Abu Dhabi desert sits the magnificent Yas Marina F1 circuit and the prestigious Yas Hotel, which is where Ultra Electronics Airport Systems held their inaugural EMEA & Asia Customer Summit.

With delegates from different airlines, airport authorities, and partner organisations, who had travelled from countries all over the world, including France, China, South Africa, Denmark, UK, Germany, Switzerland, the US and the Middle East, this event turned into a truly global gathering with a lively exchange of information, ideas and open debate.

Supporting Ultra as sponsors of the event were NCR, Cisco and TopScientific, Ultra’s global strategic partners.

With presentations from industry experts James Burke, former CIO of Toronto Airport, and Paul Behan of IATA, as well as customer presentations from Aeroports de Paris, Shangdong Airport and Vienna Airport, there was a wealth of valuable content resulting in lively discussions and debate.

Topics covered included how the airport of the future might look and how self-service for customers, especially for mobile devices, is going to be key to ensure future success when handling predicted increased passenger volumes whilst still ensuring high levels of customer satisfaction.

“This event has been an excellent mix of industry information and technical product roadmaps, helping us to plan our ongoing strategies with Ultra Airport Systems,” commented Valerie Herzog of ADP France.

The event did include some time for everyone to relax and network with their peers. Even in the searing heat of Abu Dhabi, evenings were spent on the terrace of the Yas Hotel enjoying good food, wine, and ultimately, interesting and stimulating company.

Wayne Miller, NCR industry director, commented: “The Ultra Customer Summit was a great opportunity to hear directly from the industry what their customer experience and commercial goals were for the airport of the future, and to demonstrate the strong value proposition the combination of Ultra, NCR, and Cisco has in support of those challenges.”

In summarising the event to the delegates, Aidan Douglas, Ultra Airport Systems’ managing director, said: “This has been an interesting and enlightening event that has delivered what he hoped to be a valuable mix of information and industry insight.”