After a four-year gap enforced by the pandemic, the biennial Farnborough International Airshow is set to return in just under two months, running from July 18 to 22. At a preview event this week, organizers said bookings suggest the 2022 event will be on a comparable scale to the one held in 2018, with more than 1,500 exhibiting companies and 80,000 industry visitors expected. Details of the daily flying display have not yet been released.
During the hiatus, organizers have taken the opportunity to refresh the show with new features, including an Aerospace Global Forum that will feature presentations by senior industry leaders on topics spanning sustainability, innovation, the future of flight, workforce challenges, space, and defense. The seminars will be held in a pair of "sound stage" structures that have been used to produce movies.
“We are determined to provide a platform to address the existential issue that is climate change,” said Farnborough International CEO Gareth Rogers. “We’re not looking to put company spins on this [discussion], we’re trying to solve real problems. It doesn’t matter where you sit in the aviation ecosystem, we have to deal with this.”
This year’s show will also feature a revised meetings program for exhibitors and visitors. These will no longer be limited to a buyer-to-supplier format and instead will include opportunities for direct engagement among buyers and suppliers.