Lockheed Among Firms Now Skipping Singapore Air Show Amid Virus
More Companies Withdraw From Singapore Airshow on Virus Fears
(Bloomberg) -- Lockheed Martin Corp and Raytheon Co. are among more than 70 international aviation companies withdrawing from Asia’s largest aerospace and defense conference in Singapore as concerns mount over the new coronavirus outbreak.
Organizer Experia Events said the airshow which starts on Feb. 11 will continue as planned, and companies that had pulled out represent less than 8% of participants. As a precautionary measure, it will sell fewer tickets to the public on the two days the event is open to them.
The biennial airshow is billed as one of the biggest events for Singapore, drawing almost 80,000 visitors and 54,000 trade attendees in 2018. The event that year generated more than S$343 million ($247 million) in spending, according to a survey conducted by Kadence International and published by the Straits Times.
Participants that have also withdrawn include:
- Bombardier Inc.
- CAE Inc.
- De Havilland Aircraft of Canada Ltd.
- Gulfstream Aerospace Corp.
- Honeywell Aerospace
- Textron Aviation Inc.
- Viking Air Ltd.
The U.S. pavilion is still taking part in the airshow, Experia said. The Pentagon is sending a smaller delegation than originally planned, according to Reuters, and Boeing Co. said it plans to still participate even though “like most other exhibitors, we’re adjusting our presence at the show.”
More than ten Chinese exhibitors previously confirmed their withdrawal. South Korea’s Black Eagles aerobatic team announced it wouldn’t participate this year either.
Singapore on Friday raised its national response to the virus to Orange, its second-highest level and the same one used during the SARS epidemic. The government has advised event organizers to cancel or defer non-essential large-scale gatherings, while individuals were encouraged to avoid shaking hands.
Experia earlier said the airshow would go on with additional health screening and cleaning measures. If Singapore raises its response level to the virus to the highest, the company will follow government guidelines, Managing Director Leck Chet Lam said.
To contact the reporters on this story: Kyunghee Park in Singapore at kpark3@bloomberg.net;Melissa Cheok in Singapore at mcheok2@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Shamim Adam at sadam2@bloomberg.net, Niluksi Koswanage
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