Abu Dhabi flies world's largest banner

THE world's largest banner, in the form of UAE national colours, was flown over Abu Dhabi skies on Sunday.

The world record setting effort was the initiative of Falcon Aviation Services (FAS) LLC, a wholly owned company of Member of Executive Council Dr Sheikh Sultan Bin Khalifa Al Nahyan.

Measuring in excess of 50,000 square feet, the banner was towed under a Bell 412 chopper supplied by Evergreen Helicopters who are current partners wxith FAS in providing search and rescue services to the UAE Armed Forces.

The attempt that came on UAE National Day broke the record set by Swedish furniture giant IKEA created in Australia last year with a banner of 47,000 square feet.

The banner depicting the UAE flag was clearly visible from up to 20 kilometers away and the route was specifically designed to take the flag right across the capital making it visible to virtually the entire population of the city of Abu Dhabi.

The idea for the sky high celebration on UAE National Day came initially from Sheikh Sultan and the Chairman of FAS, Captain Salem Al Kayoumi. This followed the FAS plan to conduct aerial banner towing as part of its growing aviation business.

"What better way to celebrate our nation's birthday than to proudly display the UAE Flag not only to Abu Dhabi and the UAE, but to the rest of the world as well," said Captain Kayoumi in a statement released after the record-breaking event.

The banner was supplied by Heli Banners, a UK based company who supply aerial banners for marketing purposes using the world wide patented Helicopter Overcity Banner System (Hobs) which enables these huge banners to be flown safely over built-up areas.

The Hobs system has undergone extensive evaluation by the UAE General Civil Aviation Authority who assessed and approved the FAS aircraft, the Hobs system and the procedures for use in the UAE.

The record-breaking flight was jointly sponsored by FAS, Marina Mall and the Abu Dhabi International Marine and Sports Club.