Flight International online news 08:30GMT: The National Business Aviation Association is urgently looking for a new city to host its annual convention in November after it emerged that New Orleans will not recover in time from Hurricane Katrina.
The NBAA – which was due to return to New Orleans after four years – had said immediately after the disaster that it “would continue to assess the opportunity” to keep the 58th convention in the Louisiana city. But following the city authority’s decision to evacuate New Orleans as a result of broken levees and the threat of disease, the association said that “regrettably” it had taken the decision on Wednesday to relocate.
The pressure will now be on the NBAA to find a convention centre large enough to host the show, which also requires a nearby business airport to host a static display. Ironically, the last NBAA convention in New Orleans, in 2001, had to be rescheduled as it was due to take place days after 9/11. A scaled-down version took place later that year.
In recent years, the convention has rotated between three cities: New Orleans, Las Vegas and Orlando. The NBAA convention is a huge moneyspinner for a local economy, with more than 30,000 business jet operators, exhibitors and other suppliers in town for up to a week. However, suitable locations will be in short supply in the “convention season” which runs to early December, with major events booking sites years in advance.
The NBAA – whose members include many of the USA’s biggest corporations – has pledged to provide charitable assistance to the city. “The NBAA and its members join with the rest of America in expressing our sorrow and concern for the people affected by this terrible tragedy,” says NBAA president and chief executive Ed Bolen.
He adds: “It is unfortunate that we have no choice but to move our convention. However, we look forward to returning to New Orleans when the city is again ready to accommodate our event.”
MURDO MORRISON/LONDON
Source: Flight International
