The advancement of business aviation in Africa is a focus at the 8th Aviation Africa Summit & Exhibition following the co-location of AfBAA's Symposium and AGM at the Sandton Convention Centre in Gauteng, South Africa on 16-17 September, 2024.

“Co-locating our annual symposium at Aviation Africa is a major statement of intent about the importance of business aviation to this continent and our commitment to developing our industry on the most significant platforms,” says AfBAA chair Alcinda Pereira. “Our partnership will create a greater networking opportunity for the region's business aviation community and amplify AfBAA's voice across our business and beyond.”

The summit will feature a keynote presentation from Pereira, who is the co-founder and vice-chair of Angola-based private aviation group Bestfly, while vice-chair Gavin Kiggen, who is vice president, ExecuJet Africa and president, aircraft sales and acquisitions at Luxaviation Group, will also feature on the summit programme, along with other senior representatives drawn from AfBAA members.

“As Aviation Africa has grown and developed, we have seen increasing delegate and exhibitor numbers at the event, so it is extremely fitting that we are teaming up with AfBAA in 2024 to boost participation from the business aviation industry,” says Mark Brown, CEO of Times Aerospace Events which runs Aviation Africa.

Brown says there are discounted delegate and exhibitor packages for AfBAA members, and some of the business aviation industry's biggest names, such as Hadid, Jetex, Skyplan, Jet Aviation, Bell Textron, Pratt & Whitney, Collins Aerospace, AEG Fuels and Satcom Direct, are already signed up to join the event.

The Aviation Africa Summit & Exhibition 2024 is officially hosted by the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) and is regarded as the continent's leading annual meeting place for the continent's commercial air transport industry.

“This is the first time the event has taken place in South Africa, and it comes at an important time as the country recovers and rebuilds from the turbulence of the past few years,” says Brown.

High-level speakers from across Africa and beyond will feature at this year's summit, which has the theme ‘Bridging Skies and Leveraging Growth’. It brings together leaders from the region's airlines, regulators, airports, OEMs and companies large and small across the whole support and supply chain.