The European Business Aviation Association (EBAA) said it is very pleased with the industry’s response to the first of its new AirOps Europe conferences, staged last week at Cannes Airport in the south of France (October 12 and 13). “We hoped for 300 visitors and in fact we had almost 400, so that was very positive,” commented EBAA president Brian Humphries. The event, which has some similarities with the annual NBAA Schedulers and Dispatchers conference, drew around 30 exhibiting companies, including FBOs, fuel providers, ground-handling specialists, airports and aircraft operators.

AirOps Europe included training and auditing sessions for the International Standard for Business Aircraft Handling, which a growing number of FBOs and handling providers are seeking. The event also featured “speed dating” style meetings to give companies the chance to make pitches for new business and partnerships.

The second edition of AirOps Europe will be held Sept. 20 to 21, 2017, once again in Cannes. “We want to have this event as a separate place, apart from the annual EBACE show, to meet our clients and develop new business,” said Andreas Becker, CEO of Cologne-based ground handler German Aviation Service.