Farnborough drops public weekend

A change of format for the 2020 Farnborough International Airshow will see the traditional public weekend scrapped to make the gathering a five-day event, with the trade show opening its doors to the public on the Friday.

In the face of widespread industry shortages of pilots and other professionals, organisers described the change as “taking the show back to its roots” to engage young people and promote and inspire the next generation.

A statement said the move hoped to enhance the airshow's role as an inspirational event to encourage talented young people attracted to aerospace, defence and space to focus on developing skills needed to enter careers in these industries.

Organising company Farnborough International CEO Gareth Rogers said: “Removing the public weekend will disappoint some, but for our exhibitors and trade visitors the focus is on business and accessing the talent they need to sustain global competitiveness.”

Air displays showcasing the latest commercial and military aircraft will continue on each day of the event while the technologies driving new products and manufacturing processes will also be on display for the public attending on the Friday.

Farnborough last year hosted more than 1,500 exhibitors and welcomed 80,000 visitors representing 112 countries.

www.farnborough.com

Index/Home page
 

OUR READERS' FINEST WORDS (All times and dates are GMT)

All comments are filtered to exclude any excesses but the Editor does not have to agree with what is being said. 100 words maximum

Mark Blackburn, Somerset UK

Absolutely. Perhaps they haven’t noticed that most people they’re talking about would be at school, college or work on a weekday. Corporate whitewash for improving the bottom line - members of the public don’t write out orders. Another sad bygone from my youth.

Keith Wallis, Faversham

I might be missing something but I don’t understand the logic of slashing public and thereby young people’s access to Farnborough by 66 percent with the organiser’s hope Farnbough will be “an inspirational event” to attract youngsters to the industry. Surely to meet that aim there should be more public access, not less. I’m happy to be enlightened