Friedrichshafen, Germany — April 2026
The 32nd edition of AERO Friedrichshafen opened on 22 April 2026. With close to 860 exhibitors from 50 countries occupying 95,000 square metres of gross exhibition space across twelve halls, the four-day event has set a new attendance mark for the second consecutive year — an increase of roughly 100 exhibitors over what was already a record-setting 2025.
Show Director Tobias Bretzel, speaking at Fairnamic, attributed much of the upward trajectory to the business aviation segment. "Business aviation, with its dynamism, is driving AERO's strong growth," he said. "However, one of AERO's key strengths lies in showcasing the full spectrum of general aviation and air sports. Visitors can see this for themselves in the static display and across the twelve exhibition halls." He also noted that pre-registered visitor numbers had increased by 30 percent over the same point in 2025, and that more than half of all attendees hold a pilot certificate.
AAM
In the advanced air mobility category, Volocopter exhibited a mockup of its VoloCity, described as the first EASA-certified eVTOL air taxi in Europe. The company has accumulated more than 2,500 unmanned and piloted test flights across multiple continents and is targeting passenger operations in major cities from 2027. Whether that timeline holds will depend on regulatory, commercial, and infrastructure factors that remain unresolved, but the certification milestone is substantive.
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has a presence at AERO in Hall A5, with experts available across all four show days. On 23 April, EASA hosted a General Aviation Conference at the AERO Conference Stage under the heading "Exploring simpler rules for safer GA" — a topic with direct relevance to much of what is being displayed at the show, particularly in the ultralight and light sport categories.
Hydrogen & Battery Summit
The AERO Hydrogen & Battery Summit, part of the show's expanding conference programme, reflects the degree to which alternative propulsion has moved from peripheral conversation to substantive industry discussion. The Innovation Stage and GA Academy round out a conference schedule that positions AERO as a venue for knowledge exchange as much as product display.
Business Aviation
The business aviation dimension of the show has been amplified further by an external development. The surprise cancellation on 10 April of the European Business Aviation Conference and Exhibition (EBACE), which had been scheduled for June in Geneva, left a significant gap in the European business aviation calendar. AERO has stepped into that space. Nearly 300 exhibitors now represent the business aviation segment, and more than 50 business aircraft are on display across the static display area and adjacent halls. Show executives have begun describing the Friedrichshafen event as Europe's leading showcase for business aviation in 2026 — a designation that, given the EBACE situation, carries a degree of structural reality rather than simply promotional intent.
The Business Aviation Dome, enlarged again this year, forms the physical centrepiece of this segment. Its growth has been so substantial that the dome structure itself had to be relocated to accommodate the volume of aircraft in the surrounding static display. Two dedicated exhibition halls — A2 and A3 — support it.
Among the business aviation debuts is Textron Aviation, which has brought the Cessna Citation Longitude and the midsize Citation Ascend to AERO for the first time. The Citation Ascend also marks a European show debut. Chris Hearne, Textron Aviation's Senior Vice President of Engineering, was direct about the commercial rationale: "This is an important show in an important region for us." With more than 850 Cessna Citation business jets, 450 Beechcraft King Air turboprops, and 175 Cessna Caravan turboprops operating in Europe, the company's presence in Friedrichshafen is a logical extension of its customer relationships on the continent.
Italy's Piaggio Aerospace is using AERO to signal a change of direction following several years in extraordinary administration — an Italian form of receivership. The company, acquired in June 2025 by Turkish defence manufacturer Baykar, is presenting its "Next Era" concept, anchored by the Avanti Next, the latest evolution of the P.180 Avanti family. CEO Giovanni Tomassini put it plainly at media day: "After some years in a challenging condition, Piaggio is back."
France's Daher is presenting two single-engine turboprops that are appearing at a European trade show for the first time: the TBM 980 and the Kodiak 900. The TBM 980 was unveiled to the public in January 2026 as the newest addition to Daher's TBM family. The Kodiak 900, an extended derivative of the Kodiak 100 developed in 2022 with a fuselage lengthened by 1.10 metres and a more capable Pratt & Whitney PT6A-140A engine, achieved EASA certification in 2023. Its maximum cruise speed of 210 knots true airspeed compares with 174 knots for the base Kodiak 100. A Kodiak 900 was flown directly from Idaho to Friedrichshafen for the show by Daher's Paul Carelli, Senior Director of Multi-Mission Aircraft and Business Development for the Americas.
Ultralights
The general aviation and ultralight segments continue to produce technically interesting work. Evocopter GmbH has unveiled the ClassiX, a completely newly developed ultralight helicopter receiving its first public appearance at AERO. The airframe is constructed predominantly from high-strength carbon fibre and achieved German type certification through the DULV in five years. The ClassiX is unusual in its class for incorporating the Lycoming O-360 engine, which Evocopter has refined with an electronic dual ignition system and lightweight ancillaries.
Kaelin Aero Technologies GmbH, based in Germany and Switzerland, has presented the B-100C — a tandem two-seat basic trainer with a maximum speed of 162 knots designed to take pilots from initial training through to advanced profiles. The company is tracking the evolution of MOSAIC regulations with interest; the current anticipated weight range reaches 780 kg MTOW, with potential for greater scope in time. The aircraft's aesthetic and handling character have been positioned at the sharper end of the training market.
Lico Stahl- und Kunststofftechnik GmbH from Unterhaching is presenting the HANGARTAXI, an omnidirectional, electrically driven ground handling system for helicopters equipped with skid landing gear. Designed specifically for constrained hangar spaces, the system represents a practical response to the ongoing challenge of managing rotary-wing aircraft in urban and suburban operations facilities.
JUNKERS Aircraft is marking the receipt of a DULV type certificate for its latest model, the JUNKERS A60, at this year's show. The company is also displaying the A50 Junior, a 600-kilogram ultralight aircraft drawing on the visual language of the historic 1929 model, and the A50 Heritage, a reconstruction of the 1920s original fitted with a Verner Scarlett 7U seven-cylinder radial engine, wooden propeller, and analogue instrumentation.
What AERO 2026 demonstrates, taken as a whole, is that the European general aviation market is in a period of measured expansion, driven by overlapping forces: the maturation of business aviation demand, certification progress in advanced air mobility, regulatory evolution for lighter aircraft categories, and the persistent appetite among pilots — half of whom attend AERO — for new and refined aircraft. The show does not resolve the tensions and uncertainties that characterise any part of this industry, but it maps them more clearly than most.
