Farnborough air show organisers are in Singapore to talk up this year’s event, which will feature a host of new features as well as the site’s first permanent exhibition hall.

An aerospace 4.0 exhibit, an expanded cargo village and a celebration of the Royal Air Force’s centenary will all be part of the 16-22 July industry gathering.

But arguably the biggest change visitors to the 2018 show will notice is the new hall one – a complex which, as well as being the centrepiece of the biennial show, will host other trade events year-round. The hall is due to stage its first exhibition in February.

“It will create a real wow factor as people come into the show site,” says Farnborough International show director Amanda Stainer.

The welcome reception – in the form of a “British afternoon tea party” with Pimm's and Champagne – will be held in the new hall on the Monday, the first time it has taken place on site rather than in London during the evening.

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Hall one – which is fitted with wi-fi and air-conditioning and will link via walkways to the temporary halls two, three and four – is just one of several infrastructure improvements to the airfield that Farnborough International has carried out in the past few years, including opening the Five exhibition hangar and permanent chalet row A. The new hall will house the media centre as well as a large viewing gallery on the roof. Hall one exhibitors will pay a premium.

The aerospace 4.0 exhibit – sponsored by Deloitte – will focus on factory automation, additive manufacturing techniques, and data analytics technologies, and feature several exhibitors making their Farnborough debut, says Stainer.

The cargo village, which appeared for the first time in 2016, will this year include a three-day conference, an indoor exhibit of cargo-handling equipment, and an expanded static display.

In hall three, official delegations to Farnborough will be treated to a live-action display of defence and security products by role-playing actors.

The show is on track to have its largest ever number of international pavilions – 28 – says Stainer.

Source: Flight Daily News