Flying to AERO 2024 with your own plane

Visitors of AERO 2024 will also be able to attend the leading global trade fair for General Aviation in their own aircraft. A new, fair procedure for booking slots at the trade fair will simplify the reservation of arrival and departure slots. The 30th AERO will take place in Friedrichshafen from April 17 to 20, 2024. Many trade fair attendees will be traveling to the anniversary trade fair in their own or chartered aircraft. Those responsible at the trade fair organizer fairnamic GmbH, Friedrichshafen Airport, Air Traffic Control and the security authorities have worked together to create more slots.

Those interested in arrival and departure slots during the trade fair (April 17 - 20) have to register in advance via the online booking system from February 15, 2024. They will then be automatically informed by the booking system from mid-March on that they can now book and pay for the mandatory arrival and departure slots for the trade fair period. Mandatory pre-registration in the booking system ensures a fair distribution of available slots. Users can also change their data and slots in their account. As in previous years, pilots flying to AERO will again receive a free 1-day trade fair ticket. 

Claus-Dieter Wehr, Managing Director of Flughafen Friedrichshafen GmbH, stated: "The handling of guests arriving in their own aircraft worked well last year. We are also building on this for the 30th AERO. However, we also know that despite the increase in the number of slots, there will again be more reservation requests than slots."

When booking a slot, pilots are charged the slot reservation fee. All other services such as landing fees and parking fees are invoiced after the show. All changes made by the pilot up to departure that have an effect on the fee to be paid will therefore be billed once and transparently.

As last year, pilots will be asked for their license at the crew tent before departure and this will be checked. It will also be checked whether passengers have been registered in advance. Passengers who are not accompanied by a pilot will be denied access to the airport grounds. This is to ensure that no unauthorized persons enter the airport premises and to enable the authorities and the airport to keep track of who is on the airport premises. A shuttle service is available for pilots and their passengers from the crew tent to their aircraft. These shuttle vehicles must be used for security reasons and enable pilots and their passengers to transfer to their aircraft in comfort.

Tobias Bretzel, AERO Show Director, said: "We are delighted to be able to offer AERO exhibitors and visitors more slots for the anniversary AERO than last year – which is of particular importance to us. With a new process, we are making slot booking more customer-friendly and incorporating the experience of previous years into the new system."

As a long-standing partner of AERO, the Segelfliegergruppe Markdorf e.V. is delighted to be able to make the Markdorf glider field available as a trade fair airfield again in 2024. On the days of the trade fair (17 to 20 April 2024), the airfield located approximately 10 kilometers west of Friedrichshafen will be available for microlight aircraft (3-axis controlled, trikes and gyrocopters). Piston aircraft and motor gliders are not permitted on the site! Due to a change in airfield approval, landing in Markdorf is only possible with PPR. For this purpose, a registration must be made at www.SFG-Markdorf.de. As in previous years, there is no customs clearance and no fuel available at Markdorf airfield.

Other airfields with direct shuttle services to the trade show are Mengen and Leutkirch. The local airfield of Konstanz is connected via the lake with a catamaran. The organizers offer dedicated combi-tickets for the show entrance and the catamaran. Also the airfield of Biberach can be used as alternative as it is well connected to the local train to Friedrichshafen Airport.