-Near 2000 employees from, Abu Dhabi Police, Immigrations and Customs to be trained over 18 months-

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, November 27th 2010: Gulf Centre for Aviation Studies (GCAS) and ADAC are celebrating the graduation of the first 20 trainees from the newly-established Customer Service Programme, 'Journey towards Excellence'. The three-day course aims to train Abu Dhabi Police, Immigration and Customs employees to improve the travellers' experience at Abu Dhabi International Airport, while servicing the demand for a competent, confident and skilled workforce to accommodate the growth of the five airports across Abu Dhabi.

The graduation ceremony hosted at the Gulf Centre for Aviation Studies was attended by ADAC's Senior Vice President of Airports Operations, Ahmad Al Haddabi, and other ADAC and GCAS executives. The first batch of graduates included, Abu Dhabi Police, Immigrations and Customs personnel involved with Abu Dhabi International Airport. The training forms an integral part of Abu Dhabi International Airport's massive development plans to improve its facilities and services as it grows to become a key driver behind expanding Abu Dhabi's tourism industry in line with its 2030 vision.

Dr. Othman Khoury, Deputy General Manager at GCAS, commented:

"The 'Journey Towards Excellence' programme is one of many steps being taken by ADAC to accommodate the ongoing growth and development of Abu Dhabi's airports. The training provided by GCAS through this extensive course will improve internal systems and enhance the skills of our partners at Abu Dhabi International Airport, to ensure highest levels of passenger satisfaction across all airport services within Abu Dhabi."

The programme continues to build on ADAC's commitment to excellence in customer service.  Abu Dhabi International Airport was recently granted an ASQ (Airport Service Quality) Assured status by Airport Council International and awarded the "Most Improved Airport in the Middle East" for 2009-2010. In addition, earlier this year Abu Dhabi International Airport was named the "World's Most Improved Airport" by Skytrax.

-Ends- 

About GCAS
The Gulf Centre for Aviation Studies (GCAS), a GCAA certified centre of excellence, was created to serve the aviation security training needs of Abu Dhabi Airport Company, its subsidiaries and the region. GCAS has partnered with leading international organizations such as JAA-TO and ACI to ensure that industry best practices and leading-edge courses are brought to the Middle East. Through its own proprietary courses and those of its partners, GCAS provides the region with cost effective training solutions to address the challenges of the 21st century aviation industry.

With its new facilities at Al Bateen Executive Airport, GCAS offers its students the unique chance to observe a leading international airport in operational circumstances. No other training organization can provide the relationships that GCAS has created to ensure that the latest technologies and trends are observed in practice.

The Gulf Centre for Aviation Studies will offer ongoing training programs covering all sectors of the aviation business including:

  • Airline
  • Airport
  • Cargo
  • Management
  • Regulatory / Civil Aviation
  • Safety and Security

Go to GCAS's website at www.gcas.ae to see our latest course offerings, or contact training@gcas.ae for more information.

About Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC)
Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC) is a public joint-stock company wholly owned by the Abu Dhabi Government. It was incorporated by Amiri Decree number 5, issued on 4 March 2006, to spearhead the development of the Emirate's aviation infrastructure. In September 2006, ADAC assumed responsibility for the operation and management of Abu Dhabi and Al Ain International Airports. In 2008, ADAC added Al Bateen Executive Airport (an exclusive private aviation airport), and Sir Bani Yas and Delma Island Airports to its portfolio. These airports are geared to serve the various segments of air travellers, the aviation marketplace, and will help contribute to Abu Dhabi's development as a destination for both business and leisure tourism.

Currently under way is the multi-billion dollar re-development and expansion of Abu Dhabi International Airport designed to increase the overall capacity of the airport to more than 20 million passengers per year. As part of this redevelopment, a second runway and a third terminal have been completed.

For more information, please contact:
Abdulaziz Almusalam
Mob: +971 50 926 4380
Tel: +971 +971 2 447 2805
E-Mail:adac@hillandknowlton.com 

Elham Bourani 
P.O. Box: 94449, Abu Dhabi, U.A.E
Mob: +971 50 818 0467
E-mail: ebourani@adac.ae;
Web sites:www.adac.ae, www.adacmediacentre.com  
Time Zone: GMT/UTC +4

© Press Release 2010