The 2008 event that will succeed the last edition of Asian Aerospace will be called the Singapore Airshow, Singaporean deputy prime minister Prof S Jayakumar declared at the show’s official opening.
“The success of air shows here is due in no small part to the Singapore brand, associated with our infrastructure, our aviation industry, and a strong partnership between industry and government,” he said. Until this week the event had been labelled the Changi International Air Show.
The inaugural Singapore Airshow will be held on a new dedicated site at Changi on 26 February- 2 March 2008. It will be organised by a new joint-venture company formed by the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore and the Defence Science and Technology Agency, a subsidiary of the country's defence ministry.
The new site for Singapore Airshow will be on recently reclaimed land on the coast next to the airport. It will include a new runway laid down parallel to the two existing strips, allowing demonstration and display flying to go on without disruption to operations at Changi International. Among the new facilities will be a 40,000m2 (430,570ft2) hall, 200 chalets and a 100,000m2 static park.
Managing director of the company that will organise Singapore Airshow is former Reed Exhibitions executive Jimmy Lau. “We’re making no conscious effort to differentiate Singapore Airshow from the Asian Aerospace event to be held in Hong Kong next year,” he says. “We will continue to present ourselves as a comprehensive aerospace show. We see no need to depart from our present formula – the only real difference is the brand-new facility and improved accessibility that our customers have been asking for.”
- This year’s final Asian Aerospace in Singapore is already a record success, with exhibitors up more than 20% to a highest-ever tally of 930. They come from a total of 43 different countries compared with 37 in 2004, and there are three new national pavilions, taking the total to 21.
Source: Flight Daily News
