CHICAGO, April 19, 2012 - Chicago Department of Aviation (CDA) Commissioner Rosemarie S. Andolino participated in a panel discussion "Investing in Airport Capacity While Keeping Customers Satisfied" on day one of the Global Aerospace Summit in Abu Dhabi on Monday, April 16, 2012. A video overview of the conference is available here.

Andolino offered details on the extensive investments Chicago has made in its airports, including the O'Hare Modernization Program (OMP) that is reconfiguring O'Hare's airfield; investments in new concessions including food and beverage, retail and services; and a growing number of sustainability programs that have made Chicago's airports among the greenest in the world. The Commissioner was joined in a panel discussion by James Bennett, CEO, Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC); Nicolas Villen, CEO, Ferrovial Aeropuertoes; Paul Reid, Managing Director, NATS; and Shane O'Hare, CEO, Royal Jet.

Andolino participated in a panel discussion about investing in airport capacity at the Global Aerospace Summit on Monday, April 16, 2012.

Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak, CEO and Managing Director, Mubadala; His Excellency Khalifa Al Mazrouei, Chairman, ADAC; and HH Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive Emirates Airline & Group also attended the conference which was hosted by Mubadala Aerospace, a division or Mubadala Development Company. Mubadala Aerospace is helping to establish Abu Dhabi as a global aerospace hub, a cornerstone of the Emirate's economic diversification strategy, through long-term, capital intensive investments. ADAC was an event partner with Mubadala Aerospace for this year's summit. ADAC and the CDA are sister airports under a memorandum of understanding agreement established in 2009.

Other conference presenters included Akbar Al Baker, CEO, Qatar Airways, with whom Commissioner Andolino met to discuss new service by Qatar to Chicago. Additional presenters included former FAA administrator Marion C. Blakey, Chair, International Coordinating Council of Aerospace Industries Associations (ICCAIA) and President & CEO of Aerospace Industries Association of America (AIA); Homaid Al Shemmari, Executive Director, Mubadala Aerospace; George Whitesides, CEO, Virgin Galactic; Tony Tyler, Director General and CEO, IATA; H.E. Sultan Saeed Al Mansoori, Minister of Economy, UAE; as well as numerous other aviation leaders from around the world.