| Dubai Airshow معرض دبي للطيران | |
|---|---|
 2007 static display | |
| Status | Active |
| Genre | Air show |
| Dates | November |
| Frequency | Biennial (odd years) |
| Venue | Al Maktoum International Airport |
| Location | Dubai World Central |
| Coordinates | 25°55′00″N55°10′00″E / 25.91667°N 55.16667°E /25.91667; 55.16667 |
| Country |  United Arab Emirates |
| Established | 1986; 39 years ago (1986) |
| Most recent | 2025 |
| Next event | 2027 |
| Attendance | 84,043 (2019)[1] |
| Activity | Trade exhibition, aerobatic and static displays |
| Organized by | Informa |
| Website | dubaiairshow.aero |
TheDubai Airshow (Arabic:معرض دبي للطيران) is a biennialair show held inDubai, United Arab Emirates under the patronage of SheikhMohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, in cooperation withDubai Civil Aviation Authority,Dubai Airports,Dubai World Central and theUAE Armed Forces.[2] It was organised byTarsus Aerospace between 1989 and 2021, since then byInforma. The event is "open to business professionals and industry only".[3]
The Dubai Airshow started life as Arab Air in 1986 - a small civil aviation trade show which F&E organised at theDubai World Trade Centre.
The first Dubai Airshow was held in 1989 at Dubai Airport, spurred on by substantialMiddle East investment in civil and military aviation. The Dubai Airshow grew from 200 exhibitors and 25aircraft in 1989.
In 1991 due to the outbreak of theGulf War, the show was moved from January to November and it had a strong military focus given events in the region.
The 2001 show took place just six weeks after the events of September 11, 2001, and closed with record order book of US$15.6 billion.
The Dubai Airshow 2003 was the fastest-selling in the event's history, 550 companies from 36 countries participated.
In 2005 the Airshow hosted the debut of the A380 in the Middle East. It arrived in fullEmirates livery for its largest customer.
In 2013, 1,046 exhibitors came from 60 countries, drawing 60,692 trade attendees for a record $206.1 billion order book of aircraft, parts and MRO deals.[4] The display presented 163 aircraft.[5] Emirates made the highest price airliner order with $99 billion for 150 newly launchedBoeing 777Xs plus 50 options and 50Airbus A380s.[6][7]
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Airbus displayed theA350-900 andA319 airliners, and theA400M andC-295 military airlifters,Beriev itsBe-200ES jet amphibian,Boeing the737 MAX 8 and787-10 jetliners,Bombardier Aerospace theCS300 small narrowbody,Embraer itsPhenom 100 small business jet, andSukhoi itsSuperjet 100 regional jet.[8] Organizers forecast 9% more visitors than in 2015 to 72,000, joined by 1,200 exhibitors, 1,350 media representatives and 160 aircraft on display and claims to be the largest afterLe Bourget andFarnborough, but beforeSingapore Airshow by number of exhibitors, square meters and visitors.[9]
On November 12, Emirates committed to purchase 40Boeing 787-10s in two- and three-class cabins for 240 to 330 passengers, to be delivered from 2022 with conversion rights to the smaller Boeing 787-9, pushing orders for the 787-10 from 171 to over 200.[10] The order is worth $15.1 billion at list prices.[11][12]
On November 15,Indigo Partners (unrelated to Indian LCCIndiGo) signed a memorandum of understanding for 430 Airbus: 273A320neos and 157A321neos for $49.5 billion at list prices; Indigo controlsFrontier Airlines and Chilean low-cost start-upJetSmart, holds stakes in Mexican budget airlineVolaris and European LCCWizz Air: 146 aircraft will go to Wizz, 134 to Frontier, 80 to Volaris and 70 to JetSmart.[13] The same day,Flydubai commit to order 175Boeing 737 Max and 50 purchase rights for $27 billion at list prices: Max 8s, Max 9s and 50 Max 10s.[14]
In 2017, 874 commitments and options were announced including 15% firm, compared with 67 in 2015 and 684 in 2013, 74.9% from LCCs, 15.7% from lessors and 8.1% from mainline carriers.These were mainly narrowbodies with 825 against 47 widebodies, Airbus had 547 commitments for a $28.2 Billion market value and Boeing had 301 for $19.5 Billion.[15]
On the opening day of the Dubai Airshow 2019,Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed andSheikh Hamdan took a private tour the latest Emirates A380. A similar aircraft also led the way during the opening procession of the Dubai Airshow 2019.[16]
On 18 November 2019, the second day of the biennial airshow, Emirates announced an order worth a total of $16 billion for 50Airbus A350-900 aircraft. The delivery for the largest deal of Airbus was scheduled to begin from May 2023.[17] Also on the 18th,Air Arabia ordered for 120Airbus A320 family aircraft, including 73 of the high-efficiency A320neo variants and 23A321XLR with a total book value in excess of $14 billion.[18]
On 19 November, the Emirates signed an agreement to purchase 30Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft. The deal was valued at $8.8 billion.[19]
The order book on site reached $54.5 billion by close of business at the Dubai Airshow 2019.[20]
The 2021 Dubai Airshow began on 14 November 2021 and lasted for 5 days until 18 November 2021.[21]
Indigo Partners placed firm orders for 255 A321 Neo aircraft.Jazeera Airways placed an order for 28 A321 Neos.Ibom Air ordered 10 A220s.Air Lease Corporation ordered seven A350 freighters.[22] On November 16, Indian airlineAkasa Air also placed an order for 72Boeing 737 MAX aircraft.[23]Jetex was the official FBO at the show.[24]
TheSukhoi Su-75 Checkmate made its international debut at the show.[22]
Israeli companies, includingIsrael Aerospace Industries andRafael Advanced Defense Systems participated at the show for the first time.
The 2023 Dubai Airshow was held from 13 to 17 November 2023.
On 13 November: Emirates placed an order for 90 777Xs; Flydubai placed an order for 30 787-9s; andSunExpress placed an order for 28 737-8s and 17 737-10s with options for a further 45.[25] AlsoairBaltic placed an order for 30 Airbus A220-300s.[26]
On 14 November:Ethiopian Airlines placed an order for 20 737-8s with options for a further 21 and an order for 11 787-9s with options for a further 15;[27]Egyptair ordered ten A350-900s.[28]
On 16 November Emirates placed an order for 15 A350-900s.[29]
Aircraft making their initial appearances at the Dubai airshow included the:Boeing F-15QA;Chengdu J-10s of theAugust 1st (aerobatic team) andKAI KUH-1 Surion andKAI LAH.
Russia operated its own pavilion separate from the main exhibition hall. Russian equipment on display included theKa-52E and theIl-76MD-90AE. TheRussian Knights performed in the flying program.[30] The show resulted in no new deals for Russian aircraft.[31]
Israeli pavilions were unstaffed after the IsraeliMinistry of Defense instructed companies such as Israel Aerospace Industries and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems not to attend due to security concerns arising from theGaza war.[32]
Dubai Airshow 2025 was held from 17 to 21 November 2025.
Emirates announced plans to installStarlink on all 232 commercial aircraft in its fleet within the next two years.[33] Emirates also confirmed a $38 billion order for 65 newBoeing 777-9 aircraft and a separate order of 130GE9X engines fromGE Aerospace.[34]
Flydubai also announced plans to implement Starlink in its fleet, the introduction ofpremium economy cabins, and a $13 billion order for 75Boeing 737 MAX aircraft.[34]
In 2025, organizers confirmed thatIsraeli defense and security companies would not participate in the exhibition. According to Timothy Hawes, Managing Director of Informa Markets, the decision followed a “technical review” applied to all exhibitors.[35] Media outlets described the move as a ban on defense firms amid heightened regional tensions due to the ongoing conflict in Gaza.[36]
On 21 November, the final day of the event, an IndianHAL Tejascrashed while performingaerobatic maneuvers at around 2:10 PM.[37][38] The pilot, 34-year-old IAF Wing CommanderNamansh Syal, was killed in the crash.[39] Aerial displays resumed two hours after the crash.[40][41][42]
The flying display demonstrates the technical capabilities of exhibiting companies' aircraft. The flying display at the Dubai Airshow has included theAirbus A380,Airbus A400M,F-16,F/A-18,F-22 Raptor,V-22 Osprey,B-1B,Eurofighter Typhoon and theHAL Tejas. Aerobatic teams from across the world have attended, including thePatrouille de France, theRed Arrows,Al Fursan andSurya Kiran.
"Dubai Air Show 2019".Flightglobal. Retrieved22 November 2025.
"Dubai Airshow 2017".Aviation International News. Retrieved22 November 2025.
