The seventh edition of the Marrakech Air Show (MAS) takes place next week, when 200 exhibitors and 50 official delegations are expected to descend on the Royal Moroccan Air Force Base outside Marrakech.
Held between 30 October and 2 November, the air show is attracting a number of the world’s top aviation companies, including Airbus, China National Aero-Technology Import & Export Corporation (CATIC), Embraer, Emirates Defense Companies Council (EDCC), Heliconia, Lockheed Martin and Tata Advanced Systems, who will exhibit across 12 500 square metres of exhibition space.
The 2024 Marrakech Air Show will highlight Morocco’s growing importance in the world aeronautics scene and bring together the sector’s leaders around major themes, organisers said, adding the event is intended to be both a first-rate showcase for the latest innovations in the sector and a meeting platform for professionals seeking business opportunities.
This seventh edition of the event will welcome a number of high-level representatives, including Wouter Van Wersch, Executive Vice-President of Airbus International, Tom Gentil, President of Hexcel, Stéphane Burton, CEO of the Orizio Group, Laurent Bouyer, Vice-President of Global Operations at Pratt & Whitney, Dr Chaouki Kasmi, President of Technology and Innovation at EDGE, and Thomas Corbel, CEO of the Le Piston Français Group.
With the integration of artificial intelligence and robotics into production lines, the Marrakech Air Show 2024 will be showcasing Industry 4.0 technologies and their application in the aerospace sector. The show’s spotlight will be on local start-ups that are developing innovative technological solutions to meet the sector’s major challenges. The future of Moroccan aeronautics will thus be a central focus of the show, with the aim of providing an overview of the major advances being made in the sector.
Solutions explored by Morocco in terms of alternative fuels and low-carbon technologies will be presented, in line with its environmental commitments and new sustainability projects. A day will be dedicated to human capital and its central role, with dedicated workshops and the presence of students from Moroccan engineering schools and universities to exchange views with professionals.
With 21 000 jobs created in the sector across nearly 150 companies, aeronautics is one of the driving forces behind industrial employment in Morocco. In just a few years, Morocco has established itself as a major player in the aerospace industry in Africa, with export sales of $2.1 billion. With double-digit annual growth and a local integration rate of 40%, the Kingdom has become one of the most competitive aeronautical platforms in the world.
The Marrakech Air Show was first held in 2008, with the last edition in 2018 before the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted it and other global shows.
