Global Aviation Conference Frankfurt 2026 Opens with 600 Senior Executives and 11 Panels on the Industry’s Hardest Questions

More than 600 senior executives from airlines, airports, lessors, MROs and OEMs are gathering at the Frankfurt Marriott Hotel on 29–30 September for the Global Aviation Conference Frankfurt 2026, a two-day forum built around eleven executive panels on the operational, financial and strategic pressures reshaping air transport.

Organised by Aviovis Group and chaired by Gabriel Hanot of GH Aviation Consulting, the conference brings together more than 50 speakers and over 40 exhibiting companies in the city’s Westend district. Lufthansa Technik and TestSolutions are the event’s Gold Sponsors. Rather than focusing on a single segment, the programme deliberately spans the whole value chain, from sustainable fuel and aircraft finance to the parts and engine aftermarket and the passenger experience.

Keynote from ITA Airways, a spotlight on Cyprus Airways

The keynote address is delivered by Joerg Michael Eberhart, Chief Executive of ITA Airways, whose carrier is completing its integration into the Lufthansa Group. Thanos Pascalis, CEO of Cyprus Airways, follows with a dedicated presentation on the island carrier’s growth strategy.

Panellists are drawn from Lufthansa Group, Qatar Airways, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Turkish Airlines, Finnair, TAP Air Portugal, Alaska Airlines, LATAM Airlines, Ryanair, easyJet, Ethiopian Airlines, Aer Lingus and WestJet on the airline side; Fraport, Munich Airport, Zurich Airport and Athens International Airport for the airports; lessors Avolon and SMBC Aviation Capital; and engine makers Rolls-Royce and Pratt & Whitney, among others. Pegasus Airlines and SunExpress add to a notable Turkish presence, with AJet attending as a participant.

Eleven panels, one agenda: execution

The panel line-up reads like a checklist of the questions keeping airline and MRO boards awake this year:

• Sustainability in Aviation: The SAF Reality Check — supply, price and the gap between mandates and molecules
• Digitalization and AI in Airline Operations — from data foundations to real-world return on investment
• The Aviation Aftermarket Under Pressure — parts, engines and commercial risk
• Maintenance Matters — ensuring reliability across today’s fleets
• The Evolving Role of Airports — hubs of innovation
• Biggest Win and Biggest Mistake — executives on the decisions that defined their year
• Crew Welfare and Workforce Management
• Innovations in Customer Experience: Beyond the Cabin
• The Future of Air Travel — trends and predictions for 2040
• Financing the Future Fleet — leasing, capital and risk
• Global Aviation Outlook — navigating geopolitical dynamics

The aftermarket and maintenance sessions land at a moment when engine shop-visit backlogs, parts lead times and the retirement profile of the CFM56 and V2500 fleets are dictating airline capacity as much as new-aircraft deliveries are. The SAF panel arrives a year into the ReFuelEU mandate, with European uplift running ahead of the 2 per cent floor but the 2030 step-up still looking expensive.

Built for meetings as much as for sessions

Alongside the stage programme, the organisers have set up an exhibition and networking area and a matchmaking platform that lets delegates pre-schedule one-to-one meetings with suppliers, partners and customers. Day one closes with a cocktail reception. Attendance is curated towards senior decision-makers, which the organisers say keeps conversations commercial rather than promotional.

Practical details

• When: Tuesday 29 and Wednesday 30 September 2026
• Where: Frankfurt Marriott Hotel, Hamburger Allee 2, 60486 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
• Organiser: Aviovis Group
• Programme and registration: globalaviationconference.com

AirPro News is an official media partner of the Global Aviation Conference Frankfurt 2026.