The Capa Middle East and Africa Aviation Summit, which was scheduled to be held in Jordan next month, has been postponed due to concerns on the spread of the coronavirus, according to the organisers of the event.
“Following consultation with our hosts, AIG [Airport International Group], it is with great regret that we announce that the Capa Middle East and Africa Aviation Summit, originally scheduled for March 2 and 3 at the Dead Sea, Jordan, will now be postponed,” Capa Centre for Aviation said in a statement.
"The Covid-19 [coronavirus] has been affecting the delivery of the event's agenda and the safety of our customers and staff is always our top priority. We will continue to monitor the situation and provide an update on the rescheduling in the coming weeks," it added.
Executives from the aviation industry that were scheduled to speak at the two-day event included Tewolde Gebremariam, the chief executive of Ethiopian Airlines, Con Korfiatis of Saudi Arabia’s low-cost airline Flyadeal and David O'Brien from Ryanair, among others.
Earlier this month, organisers of the Mobile World Congress, the world’s biggest industry show for the sector, also scrapped the event at Barcelona after the coronavirus outbreak sparked a mass exodus of top participants including LG, Facebook, Ericsson, Nokia, Amazon and Vodafone.
The death toll due to the virus has climbed to 2,118 in mainland China, with infections rising to 74,000. Hundreds more cases have been reported in 25 other countries. Iran reported two deaths, the first fatalities in the Middle East, on Wednesday.
The organisers did not give any indication on new dates for the aviation summit.
