Aero 2025: a record-breaking edition for the general aviation fair
Aero 2025 closed as the best edition ever of the international trade fair dedicated to general aviation, air sports and business aviation. The 31st edition, staged in Friedrichshafen from 9 to 12 April, consolidated the central role of the event as a global reference point for the sector.
With 760 exhibitors from 38 nations and 328 aircraft on display (never so many in the past), the event attracted 32,100 visitors from over 80 countries, surpassing the numbers of 2024. Drones, gliders, ultralights, helicopters, business jets and new technological solutions have shaped a complete overview of the evolution of aviation, between efficiency and sustainability.
The presence of the business aviation sector is strong, with the largest European exhibition of corporate jets. The brand new Business Aviation Dome (a transparent space of 2,000 m²) has enhanced the innovations of the sector, offering an immersive and impactful experience. The new trade fair concept, which involved new areas of Friedrichshafen Airport, was also a great success.
Innovation is the absolute protagonist, with world premieres such as the RX4E, the first certified four-seater electric aircraft, and the Pilatus PC-12 PRO, the new single-engine turboprop. Space will also be given to the Swiss Smartflyer project, an electric prototype presented after its roll-out in November 2024.
At the e-flight Airshow, the public was able to observe the new electric, hybrid and hydrogen propulsion technologies in flight, demonstrating the central role that Aero plays in the green transition of the aeronautical sector. Universities, startups and large manufacturers have shown solutions that will make flying increasingly clean and safe.
Alongside all this, the fair celebrated the basics of aviation: single-engine and twin-engine pistons, training and pleasure aircraft, represented en masse by all the main manufacturers. Also important was the showcase for the world of ultralights and the helicopter industry, which reached a new record with 30 helicopters on display, including models from Airbus Helicopters, Bell, Robinson and Guimbal.
With an eye to the professional future of the sector, the 2025 edition hosted the Aero Career Days, which involved over 30 companies ready to train and hire young talents in various areas of the aviation industry, from maintenance to software engineering.
Aero confirms itself as an international trade fair brand, with spin-offs already planned: Aero South Africa, staged near Johannesburg from 25 to 27 June 2025 at the private international airport of Lanseria, and Aero Asia, scheduled in Zhuhai (in the Greater Bay Area, China) from 6 to 9 November. The next appointment in Friedrichshafen is already set: Aero 2026 will open its doors from 22 to 25 April.
By the editorial staff, Avion Luxury Magazine
Text source and photo: Aero Friedrichshafen Press
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