AERO Middle East x Sand & Fun Targets Aviation Training Providers for 2027 Riyadh Event

Saudi Arabia – Aviation exhibition organiser Messe Frankfurt Saudi Arabia and the Saudi Aviation Club are targeting flight schools, simulator manufacturers and aviation training providers for AERO Middle East x Sand & Fun 2027, scheduled for December 7–11 at Thumamah Airport in Riyadh.

• Boeing’s current 2026 Pilot and Technician Outlook forecasts that the Middle East will require 236,000 new commercial aviation personnel through 2045, comprising 67,000 pilots, 65,000 maintenance technicians and 104,000 cabin crew.
• The event is scheduled to run for five days at Thumamah Airport and combines the AERO Middle East business exhibition with the existing Sand & Fun airshow. Messe Frankfurt Saudi Arabia and the Saudi Aviation Club first announced the combined platform in February 2026, with exhibitor, partner and sponsor registrations subsequently opened.
• Aviation training providers are specifically listed among the event’s targeted sectors, alongside aircraft manufacturers, technology and equipment suppliers, airlines, MRO providers, airport operators, regulators and investors. The organisers have also identified pilot training and aviation skills as areas connected to the event’s Saudi aviation focus.
• Saudi Arabia’s aviation strategy is backed by USD100 billion of planned public- and private-sector investment. GACA has previously broken this down into approximately USD50 billion for airport development, USD40 billion for aircraft fleet modernisation and USD10 billion for services and other projects, meaning the USD100 billion figure extends beyond aircraft acquisition alone.
• Boeing’s 2026 outlook values Middle East commercial aviation services and support demand at USD475 billion through 2045. AFM’s review of the forecast identified approximately USD15 billion specifically in regional training and pilot-services demand over the period.
• One current example of Saudi training-infrastructure investment is flynas’ new Riyadh training centre. The airline began construction in August 2026 on a approximately 13,000-square-metre facility in the Al Rimal district with an investment exceeding SAR200 million, equivalent to approximately USD53.3 million at the Saudi riyal’s fixed exchange rate.
• The flynas facility is scheduled to open in 2028 with capacity for around 700 trainees per day. Its first phase will incorporate three flight simulators; the building is designed for eight devices and has expansion capacity for as many as 14, alongside practical cabin safety and service-training equipment. flynas identified Airbus, CAE and Restart among companies collaborating on the project.
• The Saudi Aviation Club said during the 2025 Sand & Fun General Aviation Airshow that Saudi Arabia alone could require at least 5,000 pilots by 2030, adding a shorter-term domestic workforce indicator to the wider Middle East forecast. 

Source: Messe Frankfurt Saudi Arabia & Saudi Aviation Club