A record-setting 3,500 attendees had an opportunity to see the full range of leading products and services on a sold-out exhibit floor over two business-driven days that also featured inspiration, innovation and powerful in-person connection at every turn throughout the 2026 National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) Schedulers & Dispatchers Conference (SDC2026), held in Cleveland, Ohio.

“The year’s conference was yet another record-breaking event, but it was about much more than a set of numbers,” comments NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen. “This conference uniquely brings together a group of professionals who fundamentally understand that we are all better, as individuals and as an industry, when we can come together to share our passion, our knowledge and our sense of possibility about the future. That collective optimism and excitement also reached a high point at this year’s conference.”

For the more than 440 leading companies that filled the Huntington Convention Center, SDC2026 was a strategic opportunity to supercharge business with clients and customers from all 50 US states and 55 countries from around the world, more than 350 of whom were first-time participants at the event.

“When you come here to SDC, you have opportunities to speak directly and in person with many different people,” remarks exhibitor Charles Le Duc, president and CEO of Clarity Flight Logistics. “Having that face-to-face contact is invaluable.”

“It’s nice to see our clients, connect with industry peers and demonstrate our products and services. We’ve had a successful show,” adds Jenn Stone, senior sales manager at ARGUS International.

“The vibe is great, a lot of energetic people,” says Savannah Mittleider of Paragon Aviation Group. “People are happy to be here. Business aviation is continually growing and headed in the right direction, and that’s the vibe I got from this event.”

The sense of opportunity that permeated the SDC exhibit floor also characterised the show's sessions, starting with the standing-room-only keynote featuring iconic business aviation visionary and Flexjet chairman Kenn Ricci. The industry pioneer’s story of how he built his fractional business jet fleet from the ground up echoed a key theme of SDC2026: progress happens when people adapt, rethink and innovate.

Other top industry experts and big-picture thinkers were on hand for more than two dozen education sessions, sharing indispensable guidance across operations, technology, leadership and, most importantly, safety. In the days leading up to the conference, NBAA offered Professional Development Program courses in leadership and essential skills.

As with other NBAA events, SDC offered an opportunity to showcase the industry’s value. On the event’s opening day, a delegation of association staff and industry leaders met with representatives from Ohio’s congressional offices at Cleveland's Burke Lakefront airport to underscore the importance of general aviation in connecting citizens, companies and communities in the Buckeye State and across the country.

Staff members from the offices of Senators Jon Husted and Bernie Moreno, as well as Representatives Shontel Brown, Dave Joyce and Max Miller, were also offered a tour of the SDC show floor, to see the diversity and importance of business aviation first-hand.

Celebrating excellence in all its forms was also a part of the conference, as the committee presented the prestigious 2026 NBAA Schedulers & Dispatchers Outstanding Achievement and Leadership Award to Exclusive Air founder and president Holly Whitaker. The award honours those who have shared their expertise, provided extraordinary service, exhibited leadership and made significant contributions to the scheduling and dispatching function.

The conference also made a significant investment in the industry’s future through the generosity of the committee’s scholarship donors, who awarded more than $40,000 in monetary scholarships this year, along with 16 training scholarships supporting 23 recipients.

SDC2026 was held for the first time in Cleveland, with the theme, ‘From aviation’s birthplace, to its future’. The association’s committee leaders and NBAA team members agreed the premise was a fitting one for the event.

“SDC 2026 was built to be both timely and forward‑looking,” says NBAA Schedulers & Dispatchers Committee co-chair Mitch Papontos. “Mission accomplished.”

SDC Committee co-chair Lisa Borrayo adds: “As schedulers and dispatchers, we as a group want to help move business aviation forward.”

“Through a tireless partnership between NBAA, the volunteers of the S&D Committee and our dedicated exhibitor and sponsor partners, we built an experience in Cleveland that saw record-breaking energy,” notes Jo Damato, CAM, NBAA senior vice president, events and professional engagement. “Watching SDC evolve from its early roots into this massive, multi-activation hub of action is a testament to our schedulers and dispatchers being the heartbeat of business aviation.”

“What inspires me most is that professional development extends beyond the session room,” concludes NBAA senior director, events and credentialing Tyler Austin. “It is an active experience happening in every micro-moment and spontaneous conversation wherever our community connects onsite, and we know they will keep this going throughout the year ahead.”

Next year’s Schedulers & Dispatchers Conference takes place 22–24 February 2027, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.