Abu Dhabi: The Airline Engineering and Maintenance: Middle East forum kicked off in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday to discuss the region’s Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) industry as well as trends in the aviation sector.

During panel discussions, industry experts said they expected to see an increasing number of joint ventures and acquisitions in the region as airlines continue to expand their routes and aircraft fleet.

The MRO industry is expected to see demand for over 11 million man hours in the next decade.