- Waiting for 2023 to it’s return with full gusto
By Sangeeta Saxena & Chaitali Bag
New Delhi. 21 June 2021. If COVID-19 had not taken the world by storm, if the corona virus had not hit global populace unhindered and if activities had not come to a halt for the fear of the pandemic, the dateline of this story would have been Le Bourget, Paris, the headline Paris Air Show takes off amidst thunder in the skies & smooth landings and the sub-heading Le Bourget witnesses traditional Boeing-Airbus race one. All this would have been if the 54th Paris Air Show had been happening as normal and ADU reporting the show in full strength, which was supposed to open on 21st June 2021. The show is cancelled. A casualty of COVID-19. For the first time post the World War II , Paris Air Show will not be happening.
In decades this should be the saddest news for airshow enthusiasts. Odd year and no airshow at Le Bourget Paris. The airport, the metro rail service popularly called RER and hotels in and around Le Bourget will not be streaming with exhibitors and visitors. An the wait will not get over. The 54th Paris Air Show will open to aviation enthusiasts, professionals and the huge strength of aerospace and defence industry but in 2023. In light of the uncertainty linked to the current COVID-19 health crisis, the Paris Air Show organization had taken the decision to cancel the 2021 edition of the show, which was scheduled to take place from 21 to 27 June 2021.
Together with the Board of Directors of the GIFAS (French Aerospace Industries Association), the Board of Directors of the Paris Air Show has taken this inevitable decision in response to the international health crisis and the large number of visitors that this popular show attracts. This reasonable decision was agreed upon unanimously by the Paris Air Show Board members in the context of a crisis that has had an unprecedented impact on the aerospace industry.The next edition of the Paris Air Show will be held in June 2023, at a date that will be announced shortly. Exhibitors will receive a full refund of all sums already paid and the Paris air Show will take full financial responsibility for this decision.
“We are obviously disappointed not to be able to hold the 2021 edition of the Paris Air Show. After many months of all trade show activities being suspended throughout the world, the entire international aerospace and defence community was very much looking forward to being able to meet. We have already started work to ensure that the 2023 edition celebrates the resurgence of the aerospace industry on an international scale,” had explained Patrick Daher, Chairman of the International Paris Air Show and Chairman of the Daher Group.
Established in 1909, the International Paris Air Show is still the most important show in the world for the aeronautics and space industry. In France, the show is a real driver for this sector and a major catalyst for much international collaboration. As such it is the place where the sector’s decision makers choose to meet and gather as they come here to exhibit, sell and buy all the latest innovations. Since the Show is so massively popular with the worldwide aerospace community and the general public, it offers unrivalled opportunities for conducting business, and for being seen and known.
Gilles Fournier, CEO of the International Paris Air Show, had added, “We would like to extend a huge thank you to all of our partners, exhibitors and service providers for the trust they have placed in us. We share their disappointment, as the Paris Air Show continues to be an extremely popular event, even in periods of crisis. The 2023 edition will be larger than ever, and our teams are already working to ensure its success.”
And from today ADU will recall every moment of the past shows till it is Paris Air Show time once again and all roads are determined to lead to Le Bourget Airport, the venue of the show. Waiting for 2023 when the airport, the metro rail service popularly called RER and hotels in and around Le Bourget will be streaming with exhibitors and visitors, when the wait will nearly be over. 8.30 AM Paris time the 54th Paris Air Show will open to aviation enthusiasts, professionals and the huge strength of aerospace and defence industry , after a gap of four years. Meanwhile ADU salutes the event for it’s great contribution to the aviation world.
