The 2026 edition of the Dubai Airport Show is set to take place from May 12 to 14 at Dubai World Trade Center, said May Ismail, event manager of the Airport Show.
“We have begun preparing from now to make the next session an exceptional one in every sense. The Airport Show next year will be much larger with broader participation from more countries, organizations and leading players, which will translate to more business for them,” she stated at the recent conclusion of the 24th edition.
6,000 attendees converge in Dubai
The Dubai Airport Show 2025, which kicked off on May 6, received overwhelming support from the aviation industry from all over the world. The event concluded with a call to effectively adopt and invest in new technologies to grab the huge opportunities offered by the massive airport expansion projects in the region.
The 24th edition was marked by three days of fruitful discussion sessions, displays of innovative technologies, agreements and memoranda of understanding that will contribute to shaping the future of the aviation industry.
The show attracted more than 6,000 attendees, indicating overwhelming participation by all stakeholders in the industry in the wake of the overall positive sentiment of growth in the aviation industry. More than 140 exhibitors from 22 countries also participated in the exhibition, with the presence of over 150 buyers from over 70 organizations from 30 countries. The trade gathering hosted more than 3,500 meetings under its popular Business Connect Program.
Key agreements announced
During Dubai Airport Show 2025, several agreements were signed by the participating companies on joint ventures, collaborations and service expansion. The event was also the venue to announce the awarding of a contract by Dubai Aviation Engineering Projects (DAEP) to Smiths Detection to deploy state-of-the-art checkpoint scanners throughout Terminals 1, 2, and 3 of Dubai International Airport.
The leading annual exhibition dedicated to the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) region witnessed wide participation from industry leaders and international and regional experts, in conjunction with optimistic expectations for the growth of the global aviation industry, specifically the Middle East, as the industry is expected to achieve a new record in the number of passengers and airport expansions.
The Dubai Airport Show 2025’s platform was also chosen by leading operators, experts and regulators to discuss issues and challenges and suggest remedial measures so that the industry players can chart their future business strategies to fully grasp the growth opportunities.
The co-located events, Global Airport Leaders’ Forum (GALF) and Women in Aviation Middle East Conference, attracted more than 70 aviation leaders and expert speakers in 30 sessions.
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Middle East expansion plans in focus
This year’s Dubai Airport Show opened in the wake of the Middle East and neighboring regions experiencing a significant surge in airport expansion projects, driven by a robust recovery in global aviation and optimistic projections for passenger growth.
With expectations to handle approximately 1.1 billion passengers annually by 2040 — up from 405 million in 2019 — the Middle East is investing heavily in infrastructure to meet this demand. The Airport Show 2025 is designed to serve the $1 trillion airport development market in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) region.
Airport Show 2025 in Dubai also witnessed an unprecedented African presence, with official delegations, airlines and airport operators from more than 10 African nations presenting ambitious visions and large-scale infrastructure projects in the aviation sector, extending through 2030.
