Germany’s Federal Chancellor Dr Angela Merkel stood in-front of the Airbus 380. to declare ILA officially open.
Her presence reinforces government support for the aviation industry and in a short speech the chancellor said how proud she was to be in attendance for the ‘60th Anniversary of the Berlin Airlift’ and her “delight with the growing relationship with India” the show’s partner country, whose minister of defence Arrakkaparambil Kurian Anthony was also attending.
BDLI president Thomas Enders added “ILA is the most important meeting of the year on the European continent for the German industry and has become one of the few sustainable expanding industries which has bucked the current trend by actually creating more jobs. Once again the aerospace industry here at the ILA is demonstrating its innovative and productive capabilities with a combination of outstanding technological achievements, economic success and the fascination of flight.”
The VIP party then took a 90 minute walk of the show site which is expected to receive 115,000 visitors over the course of the three trade days.
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Source: Flight Daily News