Istanbul to host leading engine, aircraft manufacturers at key int'l aviation fair

After the success of Teknofest, Turkey's first aerospace and technology festival, Istanbul is set to host another important aviation fair later this week.

The Istanbul Airshow 2018 will welcome key national and international decision-makers as well as host some of the world's leading engine and aircraft manufacturers.

The 12th edition of the event will begin at Atatürk International Airport's General Aviation Apron on Sept. 27 and will be open until Sept. 30.

Some 150 companies with more than 40 aircraft, worth $1 billion, will participate in the event.

The show will be targeted at meeting the challenges in the Eurasian and the Middle Eastern markets, along with the developments in the Turkish aviation industry and Turkey's 2023 targets.

It will offer a great opportunity for the aviation companies that want to be a part of the global market.

Feyzan Erel, general manager of Mint Exhibition Organizers, told the Demirören News Agency (DHA) that different kinds of aerial vehicles, from ultralight gyrocopters to training, mapping, tracking, search and reconnaissance, from general-purpose to unmanned aerial vehicles, business jets, helicopters, and commercial aircraft, will be displayed at the airshow.

A number of aircraft will also be launched in Turkey for the first time at the fair, including Cessna's Citation Longitude, Piaggio EVO and HondaJet Elite.

Airbus, Beechcraft, Bell, Bombardier, Cessna, Dassault Falcon, Diamond, Eclipse, Gulfstream, HondaJet, Innovation, JMB Aircraft, Leonardo, Piaggio, Pilatus, Pipistrel, Sikorsky, Tecnam and Turkish Aviation Industries (TAI) will be among the key participants at the fair.

The airshow is fully supported by the Transportation and Infrastructure Ministry, the Undersecretariat for Defense Industries, the General Directorate of Civil Aviation (SHGM), the General Directorate of State Airports Authority (DHMİ), and is sponsored by Turkish Airlines (THY), Turkish Airlines Technic, TAV Airports Holding and TAI.

During the first three days of the exhibition, the fair will host the aviation community, including professionals, bureaucrats, business officials and students. More than 35,000 people are expected to visit the airshow.

Erel added that TAI Malaysia Investment Agency meetings and panels will be organized by the SHGM, THY and Turkish Technic. There will also be various talks and conferences on aviation organized as part of the event.

"The most basic feature of Istanbul Airshow is that it is the only platform that focuses exclusively on civil aviation. With its narrow scope, for example apart from those that are specific to the business jets, as well as all the elements including the world airports," Erel said.