Video: UAE welcomes its guests as Dubai Airshow opens

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, and His Highness Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, on Sunday opened the 'Dubai Airshow 2019' at Dubai World Central.

The biennial Dubai Airshow has opened, which runs from Sunday until Thursday, draws major commercial and military firms from around the world, as well as smaller manufacturers competing for business in the Middle East.

Visitors are seen during the first day of Dubai Air Show in Dubai on Sunday. Reuters

The United States has the largest foreign country presence with over 100 companies represented.

A Japanese crew fixes the rope around the Kawasaki C-2 transport aircraft in Dubai.

The Chicago-based Boeing will likely use the airshow to emphasize its dedication to safety after crashes of its 737 Max killed 346 people. The planes have been grounded around the world, impacting customers like flyDubai which has more than a dozen of the jets in its fleet and more than 230 on order.

Also present during the opening of the five-day event were Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai; Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs; Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority and Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates Airline and Group and Chairman of the event's organising committee; Sheikh Mansoor Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum; Sheikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Tolerance; Mohammed Bin Ahmed Al Bowardi, Minister of State for Defence Affairs; Lt. General Hamad Mohammed Thani Al Rumaithi, Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces, and a number of other Sheikhs and senior officials.

Air Race1 CEO Jeff Zaltman (right) poses with his colleagues next to their electric aircraft in Dubai. AP

During the Saturday's tour, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum listened to a briefing presented by Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum and Major General Abdullah Al Hashmi on the preparations for the event including the facilities for exhibitors.

The 2019 show will build on the overwhelming success of the last event, where more than 160 official delegations and 1,300 governmental and private companies from the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Africa are participating in the event that has become one of the top three airshows in the world.

Concluding his tour, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum said that the UAE welcomes its guests and wished the airshow success in its latest edition.