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Singapore Airshow’s record numbers, China’s C919, raise hopes of post Covid-19 boom
- Close to 60,000 people attended the four trade days of the show, nearly four times as many as in 2022 when foreign visitors required daily rapid tests for Covid
- China’s COMAC demonstrated its C919, the first flight outside Chinese territory for the company’s home-grown jet
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Record numbers attended the trade section of the first fully post-pandemic Singapore Airshow this week, with exhibitors and delegates optimistic about the aviation industry despite suppliers’ struggles to keep up with rebounding travel demand.
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Close to 60,000 people attended the four trade days of the show, nearly four times as many as in 2022 when foreign visitors required daily rapid tests for Covid-19, and more than the 54,000 who visited in 2018. The 2020 edition was rocked by last-minute cancellations as the virus spread around the world.
Outside Asia’s largest air show, transport problems snarled arrivals and departures, especially during the first days. On Tuesday, lines for free shuttle buses to the Expo public transport hub led to waits as long as three hours in temperatures over 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit) and taxis to the city cost as much as three times the usual fare.
“‘Worst transport experience’: Crawling traffic, long waits for rides frustrate Singapore Airshow visitors”, ran a headline in local newspaper the Straits Times.
Leck Chet Lam, managing director of show organiser Experia, blamed “higher attendance than in previous editions”.
In the air-conditioned display space, commercial exhibitors hawked planes, drones, surveillance technology, services and equipment. The displays attracted buyers and enthusiasts, with the Korea Aerospace Industries booth drawing a line on Wednesday for attendees to get pilots’ autographs and pose for selfies.
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More than 1,000 commercial and defence companies from 50 countries participated in the show, organisers said.
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