The European Business Aviation Association (EBAA) and National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) announced the cancellation of the European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (EBACE2021) on 5 February 2021. The event was scheduled to take place on 18 to 20 May 2021. This is due to uncertainties and safety concerns brought about by the global COVID-19 crisis.
“Although vaccination programmes are ramping up, we are still in uncharted waters. We felt that, in May 2021, the safety of our exhibitors and attendees could not be guaranteed in the traditional EBACE format,” said EBAA Secretary-General Athar Husain Khan.
“This continues to be a very challenging situation,” NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen added. “And the health and well-being of our attendees and exhibitors remains our highest priority.”
The two associations are now planning for a new virtual EBACE and are seeking other opportunities to jointly promote business aviation excellence throughout the coming year.
Other events cancelled
This isn’t the only aviation event that has been cancelled due to the uncertainties and health concerns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Some of the other cancelled events include the Airports Council International (ACI) Conference and Exhibition that was scheduled for March in Mombasa-Kenya which was postponed until March 2022.
The 6th Aviation Africa Summit, which is to take place in Kigali, Rwanda, was also postponed to 7 and 8 July 2021 with speculations that the COVID-19 vaccine will have been obtained and that the health of the exhibitors and guests won’t be at risk. It is hoped that confidence in the safety of air travel will have been largely restored by this time.
The World Travel Market (WTM) Africa, which is scheduled to take place in Cape Town, South Africa from 7 to 9 April 2021, may also be a fully virtual three-day event in case of COVID-19 resurgence.
The aviation industry has been greatly hit by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now we are only hopeful that the arrival of the vaccine with help in instilling confidence in the travellers to use air transport again.
Let us know how you’ve been affected by event cancellations due to COVID-19!
