Story ID: 437
Scaled-back Singapore Airshow 2020 Opens
By: Kerry Lynch
Caption: Leading up to Singapore Airshow 2020, 70 exhibitors pulled out, and plans are to reduce public attendance, but more than 90 percent of exhibitors remain.
Word Count: 723
Acknowledging the challenges Singapore Airshow 2020 faces in light of the coronavirus outbreak, organizers prepared for the opening with about 70 fewer exhibitors, significantly scaled-down plans for availability to the public days, and a number of health precautions in place. But even so, show organizer Experia Events still anticipated the event to draw more than 930 participating exhibitors from more than 45 countries and as many as 45,000 trade visitors.

Underscoring the importance of the airshow to the region, Leck Chet Lam, managing director of Experia Events, said the decision to move forward was taken in concert with “very close guidance” of top health officials as Singapore remained at an elevated Disease Outbreak Response System Condition (DORSCON) Orange level.

“We see it very important that…we make this platform still available for the business community. The situation is trying but we need to balance. Life must go on,” Leck said. “We see participants, we see exhibitors, [and] we see trade visitors coming on their own accord. That’s how we see [the airshow’s] value.”

At the same time, Leck acknowledged the responsibility to ensure precautions are taken, including enhanced cleaning and refuse management, plans for hand sanitizers for attendees, deployment of a team of doctors and medics to attend to visitors who are feeling unwell, and mandatory temperature screenings at access. In addition, seat tagging was instituted at spectator events, and organizers encouraged attendees to avoid contact, including handshakes. Leck recommended, instead, waves or bows.

Leck said the number of exhibitors withdrawing represented less than 8 percent of the total pool. This included, however, key exhibitors such as Lockheed Martin, Textron Aviation, Gulfstream, Bombardier, Honeywell, and Collins Aerospace. As a result, as many as 10-15 aircraft that were to have been on public display did not come to the show. 

In addition, the entire Chinese exhibitor contingent—representing as many as a dozen companies—was absent. However, the Chinese flight display team, the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) Ba Yi, was among the five in this year’s lineup.

Leck addressed questions regarding the appearance of Ba Yi, in light of the absence of other Chinese exhibitors and the general ban on arrivals from China.

This participation was discussed among government and health officials, he said, and the decision was made to continue with the flight demonstrations. Leck stressed the extraordinary measures that the team had already been taking before they flew to Singapore, including regular health screening. “They are already well prepared…and have taken all necessary precautionary measures in line with the guidelines we have,” he said.

The Chinese team joined demonstrations of the U.S. Marine Corps F-35B Joint Strike Fighter, the U.S. Pacific Air Forces’ F-22 Raptor, Republic of Singapore Air Force’s aerial display team of an F-15SG fighter jet and two AH-64D attack helicopters, and a flyover by the U.S. Air Force’s B-52 Stratofortress.

Overall, the attendance and exhibitors was already expected to be down from the 2018 show but had tracked similarly to the previous show before the novel coronavirus outbreak. While acknowledging the absence of companies that had planned to attend, several major companies remained on board. Among them were ATR, Airbus, Boeing, Israel Aerospace Industries, Pratt & Whitney, Rolls-Royce, ST Engineering, and Thales. In addition, some of those that had pulled out opted to keep visible branding on site.

A number of first-timers were among the exhibitors who chose to stay, including Japan’s Subaru, Nagano Techno Foundation, Fukuoka Aircraft Industry Network, Shimane Industrial Promotion Foundation, Australia’s Andrew Engineering, Asia Pacific Aircraft Storage, and Verseng Group.

The Singapore Pavilion, organized by the Association of Aerospace Industries, hosted more than 20 small and medium organizations, half of which were first-time exhibitors.

The Aviation Leadership Summit that was to have occurred on the eve of the show was canceled, but business forums planned for February 12 on MRO in a digital world and for February 13 on urban air mobility remained on the schedule.

New this year was a stepped-up effort toward sustainability with a fully solar-paneled roof atop the Changi Exhibition Center. Those efforts involved 15,000 solar panels that generate almost 8,000-megawatt hours of power annually.
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