Aero Friedrichshafen Breaks Records Again

The cancellation of this year’s EBACE, which usually takes place in May as Europe’s leading show in the sector, gave a last-minute boost to visitor numbers at Aero Friedrichshafen. It had already been gaining momentum, growing from a ‘light GA/sport aviation’ show into something encompassing bizav as well, starting with turboprops and now boasting a large static display of jets.

The show, which took place April 22-25, 2026, saw around 37,000 visitors from 88 countries, with 860 exhibitors. It was being held for the 32nd time at Messe Friedrichshafen, a venue which is mainly indoors but with a large static area between the site and the airport, which is a small regional airport close to the northern shore of Lake Constance, with a view of the snow-capped Alps to the south. In 2025, there were 32,100 visitors.

Philipp Ferger, CEO of the organizer Fairnamic, said, “Aero’s steady growth in recent years is the result of positive market trends and the AERO team’s customer-focused industry dialogue.” Show director Tobias Bretzel told reporters at the pre-show press conference and tour, “For the first time we’ve exceeded 800 exhibitors, and more than 50 business aviation aircraft are on display - elevating Aero to be the leading show in both GA and bizav in Europe.”

Also at the opening press conference, Cate Brancart of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) said its priorities in Europe were better safety data, simplification of rules, a replacement for Avgas, and ‘conspicuity’ – with technologies such as ADS-B.

Business aviation was the industry segment with the highest growth rate this year. The Business Aviation Dome in the Static Display expanded by 50 percent in floor space and many business aviation exhibitors shared the show’s largest hall, with mainly new exhibitors including JetEx, ViaSat, Hadid, Flight Safety International, UAS, CAE and Web Manuals. 

Meanwhile aircraft on display ranged from ultralight aircraft and helicopters, and gliders, to ultra-long-range business jets such as the Bombardier Global 6500 and the Dassault Aviation Falcon 6X.

Textron’s Cessna Citation Ascend midsize business jet was on display at an airshow outside the US for the first time while its Cessna SkyCourier, a twin-engine, turboprop-powered multi-purpose aircraft, was also being exhibited at an airshow in Europe for the first time.

There were also premieres from French manufacturer Daher, which showcased its two single-engine turboprop aircraft, the TBM 980 and Kodiak 900, for the first time at a trade show outside the U.S. 

Several deals were announced at the show, including a Luminair order for nine Cessna Citation Latitude business jets. Tecnam received several orders for its training aircraft, and French air charter firm SD Aviation placed an order for a pair of Cessna Citation M2 Gen3s and a CJ3 Gen2.

The International Aircraft Dealers’ Association (IADA) was present with a member pavilion and a new pre-owned aircraft line-up in co-operation with GlobalAir.com.

The Air Charter Association introduced its European Regional Forum, consisting of three afternoon panel sessions, starting with What does the air charter industry do? This explored the broad scope of the charter industry from relief flights, medevac to sports and music tours. The other sessions were Avoiding illegal aircraft charter and Understanding the role and value of the Air Charter Broker.

The organizers said they were looking forward to working with new media partner Aviation Week Network for Innovation and Digital intelligence, collaborating on talks on the Innovation Stage hosted by Aviation Week editors Bill Carey and Molly McMillin.

Next year’s Aero Friedrichshafen will take place April 14-17, 2027.

Business aircraft line up 

88K – PC-12; Air Alliance PC-24; Pilatus PC-12 NGX, Pilatus PC-12; Air Alliance GmbH Pilatus PC-24 & PC-12 PRO; Air Independence PC-12; Airstream, a.s. Beechcraft King Air; Air X, Challenger 850; AMC Aviation, Learjet 60XR; Augsburg Air Service GmbH, King Air, Embraer Phenom 100E; BHS Aviation GmbH; Citation Latitude - 680A, AW109 SP; Bombardier, Challenger 6500; Business Jet Aviation TR GmbH, Phenom 100; Cirrus Aircraft, Vision Jet Series 3; Cirrus SF50, Vision Jet; DAS Private Jets GmbH, Embraer Phenom 300E; Dassault Aviation Falcon 6X; FAI Aviation Group Learjet 60XR; Haute Aviation, Bell 407; HTM Helicopter Travel Munich Airbus EC135; Jetron, King Air C90; MT-Propeller Entwicklung GmbH, Piper Meridian;  Piaggio Aerospace P.180 Avanti EVO; Piper Aircraft, Inc. Piper M700, Piper M500, Piper PA 28 Archer DX; Platoon Aviation; Pilatus PC-24; Rheinland Air Service DAHER TBM 980, HondaJet Elite II, Kodiak 900; Bell 407, Bell 505 Jet Ranger X; Silesia Air s.r.o. Beech King Air 260; Tecnam P2012 Traveller; Textron Aviation King Air 260, Caravan EX, Virus, Cessna 206, Citation Ascend, Citation M2 Gen2, Citation Longitude; Cessna T182, Cessna 172; Volare Aviation: Bombardier Global 5000; EC155; Wipaire; Cessna 172.