The biennial Paris Air Show scheduled to take place in June 2021 has been canceled due to uncertainty caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The Board of Directors of the SIAE [the organizers], in agreement with the Board of GIFAS [the French aerospace industries association], made this inevitable decision given the international health situation and the attendance that such a popular festival generates,” the event’s organizers explained in a statement. “This decision, reasonable, was taken unanimously by the SIAE Council, in a context of a crisis of unprecedented magnitude for the aeronautics and space sector.”
The French Aerospace Industries Association in a statement released on Monday said, “All exhibitors will get a full refund, and the event will next be held in 2023.”
The show at Le Bourget airfield outside the French capital is among the largest aviation events in the world, where airlines typically announce large orders and manufacturers showcase new models.
The move comes after the coronavirus outbreak upended global aviation, forcing major manufacturers Airbus SE and Boeing Co. to pare back output and fire thousands of staff. Airlines are expected to lose a combined $157 billion across 2020 and 2021, according to industry group IATA. That’s almost 60% more than it suggested in June and five times the deficit racked up during the 2008-2009 recession.
At the 2019 edition of the Paris Air Show, Airbus and Boeing racked up almost $80 billion worth of deals. Airbus unveiled the new A321XLR, the longest-range version of its single-aisle workhorse, and received orders from British Airways owner IAG SA, India’s Indigo and Qantas Airways Ltd. of Australia, among others.
The equivalent event at Farnborough, southwest of London, was canceled in 2020 and will next be held in 2022. The English town hosts shows on an alternate basis with Paris.