With NBAA’s annual Schedulers and Dispatchers Conference (SDC) due to kick off tonight in Charlotte, North Carolina, and the organization’s International Operators Conference (IOC) slated to follow it next week in the Queen City, several exhibitors have decided they will not attend due to health concerns revolving around the spread of coronavirus.

Among them is Universal Weather & Aviation, which explained its thoughts in a blog from chairman Greg Evans and CEO Ralph Vasami. It reads in part: “After careful consideration and an abundance of caution, Universal has made the difficult decision to cancel our participation in this year’s SDC and IOC 2020 conferences. We are extremely disappointed to not be attending. SDC and IOC are events we love, and NBAA and the SDC/IOC Committees do an outstanding job of hosting these. However, we feel being prudent at this time must take precedence. We also want to acknowledge the extremely difficult position NBAA and the SDC/IOC Committees have been put in due to an unpredictable and quickly evolving situation. There is no doubt, the next few months are going to be challenging for our industry and the world.”

Other stalwart exhibitors who made the decision to withdraw from SDC included Atlantic Aviation and Air BP, and as of press time Signature Flight Support was still said to be weighing its options. Citing corporate policies, some flight department attendees were curtailing or canceling their trips as well.

In statements issued last week, NBAA noted that while the two shows will continue as planned, "the health and safety of our members, event participants, and partners are our top priority. NBAA continues to closely monitor developments related to COVID-19 and has been in frequent contact with medical experts. At this year’s conference, we will add further safety and sanitation measures, reflecting from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) specific to COVID-19 preparation. Additionally, we strongly encourage any attendee or exhibitor who has symptoms of COVID-19, which include fever, cough, and shortness of breath, to stay home."

NBAA added that it will be recording select education sessions at SDC and IOC so those who are unable to attend in person will be able to access the educational content that will be delivered on-site in Charlotte through its learning management system by the end of the month.