Over 100 Delegates Expected at SXM’s Safety and Security Conference

Over 100 aviation professionals drawn from the Caribbean region as well as members of St. Maarten’s Civil Aviation Authority, airline representatives, SXM Airport employees and other groups, are expected to gather at the Westin Dawn Beach Resort and Spa from September 30 to October 1, 2014 for the Safety and Security Conference & Exhibition of the Princess Juliana International Airport, SXM.
The conference, part of the ongoing 70th anniversary celebrations of the airport, is being organized under the theme: “Prioritizing Safety, Security, and Revenue Growth to Maximize Aviation Efficiency in the Caribbean.”
Participants will have an opportunity to be updated about issues affecting airports, especially in the region from industry experts such as Dr. Gerald Dillingham, Director of Civil Aviation at the U.S. Government Accountability Office and Michael Nicolaas, ICAO TCB expert in Airport Operations and Management.
Other speakers at the conference include Lionel van der Walt, newly appointed IATA representative for the Caribbean and Jurgen Benschop, COO of Aruba Airport Authority (AAA) and ACI Chairman of Latin America and the Caribbean.
“The Fire and Emergency Training Institute (FESTI) of the Greater Toronto Airport Authority will be giving a presentation on Emergency Responders and Certification. Additionally, we have invited Aviation Vendors in areas such as Security equipment, Runway equipment, Airport seating, and Emergency equipment,” said Anastacio Baker of the Quality Assurance Department at SXM, which is spearheading the conference.
“We are confident that both local and regional attendees will find this Safety and Security conference beneficial, as we are all faced with similar challenges throughout the region,” he added.
“This is a very important conference for all the stakeholders involved in aviation on the island,” stressed Regina LaBega, SXM managing director.
“We kicked off our 70th anniversary celebrations with a master class symposium on the concept of aerotropolis by the world’s leading expert on it, Dr. John Kasarda and we will begin to bring the curtain down on this special year for SXM with another major conference featuring renowned experts,” LaBega noted.
“This is in tune with constantly expanding our knowledge base so that SXM can remain at the cutting edge of initiatives in the aviation field,” she said.
The SXM Airport Safety and Security Conference & Exhibition is hosted every two years as a means of raising safety and security awareness in the aviation industry as well as creating networking opportunities with colleagues and counterparts in the Caribbean region.