Two Danish citizens, Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen and Frederik Sørensen, will be the first recipients of the European Business Aviation Awards, created to honour individuals from the business aviation regulator and operator communities in Europe.

The awards will be presented at the first annual EBACE awards reception and banquet, to be held

in Geneva on the evening of Thursday, April 19.

Kristiansen, who is president and ceo of Lego A/S, wins ‘Operator of the Year’ in honour of his willingness to lend his name and image in support of business aviation as a business tool. Sørensen is European Commission head of unit, economic regulation and air transport agreements and wins ‘Regulator of

the Year’ for his wisdom and

support when drafting regulations affecting business aviation operations in Europe.

Meanwhile, EBACE’s opening general session will include an operator’s perspective along with a regulatory segment, featuring European Commission, European Aviation Safety Agency, JAA, Eurocontrol and FAA representatives. Issues related to airspace and airport access, business aviation’s contribution to economic growth in Europe, and the impact of regulatory issues on business aviation operations will be covered.

In addition, information sessions addressing the operational and maintenance needs of European aircraft users will be available to all visitors. Session titles will include: Long-range aircraft operations – what human factors issues should be considered?; the role of helicopters in Europe; and current and future noise and environmental regulations in Europe.

Among the Original Equipment Manufacturers who will be carrying out maintenance and operations sessions are Dassault Aviation, Raytheon, Galaxy, Honeywell, Pratt & Whitney, Gulfstream and Bombardier.

General information about the event is available at www.ebace.com