The flagship and space flagship event is back: the 55th edition of the Bourget Fair will take place from June 16 to 22, in a geopolitical and commercial context “particularly complicated”, said Guillaume Faury, head of the French aeronautical and spatial industries group (GIFA).
In terms of civil aviation orders, Guillaume Faury wants to be optimistic: “We can expect a good harvest.”
The figures revealed at a press conference this Thursday testify the dynamics of the aeronautical, defense and spatial sectors: 48 countries represented, 2,400 exhibitors, including 1,110 French and 458 Americans.
The most important fair in the sector will accommodate 83 companies in the 100 best in the world, with heavy vehicles such as Airbus, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, General Atomics, Bombardier … but also 130 new companies. Ukraine will also be represented in the show, with five exhibitors, including the Antonov aircraft manufacturer.
As for the nine expected Israeli industrialists, they are suspended from a judicial decision, the Bobigny Court has to govern its presence before June 10, after an allocation presented by several associations that require their banishment.
Four themes in light
The “Air Location Hall”, baptized during the first edition in 1909, has four red threads in 2025: decarbonation, space, defense and feminization of trades.
The novelty of this edition is the installation of a large pavilion of 2,500m2, the “Paris Space Center”, to highlight the trades and innovations in the sector.
Spatial could be subject to the President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron was expected in the show on Friday, June 20. The Government and the Executive have worked in recent months in a French spatial strategy, which could be revealed on this occasion.
The defense industry will be more represented than the previous editions: it represents 45% of the exhibitors, even if many companies in the sector are in essence. “The geostrategic environment leads us to consolidate this point,” explains program management.
A true industrial showcase, but also a giant recruitment fair, the Bourget Fair will focus this year on the feminization of trades, with an operation called “aeronautical and spatial women.” The objective shown is to “attract young women to the sector”, which currently represent 27% of the workforce in the aerospace sector.
Customs duties in ambush
A sign that transatlantic aeronautical relations remain solid, US manufacturers represent the largest exhibitors quota, after France.
A professional and general public fair
Open only for professionals from the sector from Monday to Thursday, the program will welcome the general public on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Of the 70 hectares of the show, the equivalent of 100 soccer fields, visitors can see more than 150 aircraft on the floor and in flight. Among the new characteristics of this 2025 edition, a “drone cage” will offer demonstrations in flight.
The list of planes present has not yet been presented, but will include stars of the civil and military sector, including the A350, the A400M, the Rafale or the F-35. Historical airplanes will make their entrance especially for conventional days.
Source: BFM TV
