Final Boarding Call For EBACE

For nearly 25 years, May in Geneva marked the annual convergence of global business aviation's most influential voices at EBACE.

- NIDHI SHARMA reports

Executives, manufacturers, charter operators, regulators, financiers, and media gathered under one roof at Palexpo, making the event Europe's premier private aviation marketplace.

But the European Business Aviation Association abruptly cancelled EBACE 2026 less than eight weeks before the show, admitting the format had failed to generate the momentum needed to sustain the event. NIDHI SHARMA reports

For nearly 25 years, May meant something special for business aviation. Executives, charter operators, manufacturers, financiers, regulators, and journalists looked toward Geneva.

Geneva was the meeting ground for influential players in private aviation. EBACE, the European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition, united them under one banner.

EBACE launched in 2001, co-organised by EBAA and the National Business Aviation Association. In its prime, it drew more than 400 exhibitors and around 13,000 visitors each year. Palexpo, next to Geneva Airport, became the perfect venue. Delegates could walk from conference discussions to static aircraft displays, inspecting jets, meeting designers, talking to brokers, and shaking hands with CEOs.

Geneva itself was an inspired choice.

Sitting at the intersection of European finance and diplomacy, the city hosts multinational corporations, international organisations, wealth managers, and a concentration of ultra-high-net-worth individuals. It naturally attracted the people who owned, financed, operated, or chartered private aircraft.

EBACE became the place where programmes were launched, deals announced, partnerships explored, and the business aviation industry projected its identity to the world. As business aviation expanded through the 2010s, the exhibition grew alongside it. The pandemic years even brought a surge in demand as affluent travellers discovered private aviation as a protected travel bubble during lockdowns and airline disruptions.