A community of international organizations that is unique in Canada - Airports Council International continues its growth in Montréal, the civil aviation world capital

MONTRÉAL, March 20, 2014 /CNW Telbec/ - Angela Gittens, Director General of Airports Council International (ACI), and Dominique Anglade, President and CEO of Montréal International, announced that ACI would expand its activities in Montréal to develop its Airport Excellence (APEX) Programme. The expansion will create nine permanent jobs and economic spin-offs of $1.7 million a year.

"Our relocation to Montréal in 2011 facilitated a closer alignment with the International Civil Aviation Organization and other aviation industry stakeholders based here in Montréal. We increased the quality and range of services to our members particularly with the APEX in Safety programme, which was launched in September 2012. APEX has attracted a great deal of interest and we have entered into agreements with several international ACI member airports. The city has everything our organization needs to grow, so the decision to expand our facilities was a logical one," said Gittens.

Passenger numbers and air traffic volume are increasing steadily. ACI's recent forecasts indicate that there will be more than 12 billion passengers and over 135 million aircraft movements per year in 2031. "To better manage this growth we are looking at expanding the scope of APEX to cover other disciplines in airport management including service quality, operational security and environmental management. ACI has unique expertise in these areas and we will strive through our APEX expansion programme to make Montréal a global centre of airport management excellence," added Gittens.

"ACI's global role is fundamental to the aviation industry and Aéroports de Montréal has played an important role in the worldwide rollout of the APEX programme which has enabled a large number of airports to enhance the safety of operations," explained Anglade. "We are therefore delighted with ACI's success in Montréal and are honoured to have played a part. We believe in supporting our international organizations community, which is part of what makes Montréal such a unique multicultural and outward-looking city."

Montréal is host to 62 international organizations, including 10 in the aerospace sector.

About ACI (www.aci.aero)
Airports Council International (ACI) is the only global trade representative of the world's airports. Established in 1991, ACI represents airports' interests to governments and international organizations, develops standards, policies and recommended practices for airports, and provides information and training opportunities to raise standards around the world. ACI has 591 regular members operating 1,861 airports in 177 countries and territories. Its members account for more than 95% of the world's airport traffic.

About APEX
The programme provides assistance for airports to enhance their level of safety. The programme's cornerstone is the airport safety review, which analyzes gaps in airport operation and infrastructure in comparison to International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards and safety best practices. ACI organizes and dispatches a team of experts from ICAO and other airports to conduct the peer review. The APEX programme is designed for all airports, regardless of size or location.

About Montréal International (www.montrealinternational.com)
Created in 1996, Montréal International (MI) is the result of a private-public partnership. Its mission is to contribute to the economic development of Greater Montréal and enhance its international status. Its mandates include attracting foreign direct investments, international organizations and international strategic workers as well as promoting the competitive and international environment of Greater Montréal. Montréal International—a non-profit organization—is funded by the private sector, the governments of Canada and Québec, the Communauté métropolitaine de Montréal (Montréal Metropolitan Community) and the City of Montréal.

Since its creation, Montréal International has helped to attract $10.6 billion in foreign direct investments to Greater Montréal. From these investments, 52,000 jobs have been created or maintained. To date, MI's activities have also allowed almost half of some 60 international organizations to establish themselves in the city and attract and retain more than 9,000 international strategic workers.

SOURCE: Montréal International

Céline Clément, Communications Advisor, Montréal International, Telephone: [phone], [email protected]; Martine Ohayon, Director, Communications and Events, ACI World, Telephone: [phone], [email protected]; Ryan White, Manager, Communications, ACI World, Telephone: [phone], [email protected]