Singapore air show kicks off amid travel rebound, supply constraints

Singapore on Tuesday kicked off Asia’s biggest air show – the first in six years unaffected by pandemic restrictions – as the global aviation industry grapples with a full rebound in travel demand in the face of severe supply constraints.
More than 1,000 companies from more than 50 countries are participating in the biennial commercial and defence-focused Singapore Airshow, organiser Ravinder Singh said at the opening ceremony, led by Western industry giants such as Airbus, Boeing and Lockheed Martin and their Chinese competitors such as COMAC and AVIC.
Russian companies like Russian Helicopters and Irkut that attended past editions of the show are not participating this year amid the war in Ukraine. However, Israeli companies Israel Aerospace Industries and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems which dropped out of the Dubai Airshow in November amid the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza have come to Singapore.
The flying display will feature military aircraft from Singapore, Australia, India, Indonesia, South Korea and the U.S., as well as the COMAC C919 commercial jet’s first appearance outside Chinese territory and an Airbus A350-1000 powered in part by sustainable aviation fuel.
The strong international participation comes as borders have fully reopened after COVID-19.