Source: ALA News

  • The fifth largest air and space fair in the world, and the most important in Latin America, for the first time in four years brought together 46 countries, more than 420 exhibitors and almost 200 official delegations from around the world
  • Among its objectives was to promote the development of space and the security of the aviation industry, both military and civil

With great success and having fulfilled the mission of repositioning itself as the fifth exhibition of its kind worldwide and the most important in Latin America, the 2022 International Air and Space Fair (FIDAE) concluded in Santiago de Chile.

This year’s version, which, according to its biannual schedule, should have been held in 2020 but was then suspended due to the Covid-19 pandemic, far exceeded expectations. The fifth largest air and space fair in the world, and the most important in Latin America, for the first time in four years brought together 46 countries, more than 420 exhibitors and almost 200 official delegations from around the world. Among its objectives was to promote the development of space and the security of the aviation industry, both military and civil.

FIDAE opened its doors on Tuesday, April 5, 2022 and in an unbeatable setting: next to the recently built and impressive new facilities of the “Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez” International Airport, in the Chilean capital.

It coincided with the presence in Santiago de Chile of many of the main leaders of the global civil aviation industry, who were there to take part in the “Wings of Change 2022” Conference that took place held between April 6 and 7, organized by the International Air Transport Association, IATA.

The Commander-in-Chief of the Chilean Air Force, General Arturo Merino Nunez, main host of FIDAE 2022, expressed his satisfaction with the success achieved, after these two years of pandemic that have meant the worst crisis that air transport has experienced in its history. “With renewed energy, we are committed to seizing this crisis as an opportunity that will allow us to cooperate in the recovery of operations. We have reopened the doors after a forced recession,” commented the high-ranking military personality.

The next edition of the International Air and Space Fair (FIDAE) will be held in 2024, for which the Chilean Air Force (FACH) as its main organizer has already started working after thanking all those who were part of this year’s edition.

The show was not aside with respect to what happens in the rest of the world. Less than a month before its opening, it withdrew the invitation to the Russian Federation, which had planned to participate with a large national pavilion, to promote its latest aeronautical advances. The reason was no other than that country’s invasion of Ukraine. Even so, FIDAE included among its offer innovations from countries at the forefront of the aerospace industry, such as Spain, Turkey and the United States.