⦿ LIVE: Aviation Week's MRO Europe 2026 kicks off with conference in Amsterdam
Last updated: Tuesday, October 27, 3:48 p.m. GMT+1. Find updates below.
Tom Broughton Interim Head of Content & Business Development Manager, Aviation Week, delivers opening remarks for MRO Europe 2026 at the RAI Amsterdam
Aviation Week's MRO Europe 2026 is officially underway at the RAI Amsterdam in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. The event commenced this morning at 9:30 a.m. with a Tom Broughton Interim Head of Content & Business Development Manager, Aviation Week, welcoming attendees to the Premium Conference.
MRO Europe 2026 takes place from October 27 to 29, with the Premium Conference accessible at Entrance L on October 27 and 28. The exhibition hall will open tomorrow, October 28, at Entrance K.
Aviation Week Fleet and MRO Forecast
Following the opening remarks and a thank you to the event's sponsors, Daniel Williams, Director of Fleet Data Services, Aviation Week, took the stage to provide early insights into the outputs from Aviation Week’s 2027 Fleet and MRO Forecast. He provided updates on critical market trends, including fleet deliveries, utilization and shop visits.
Daniel Williams, Director of Fleet Data Services, Aviation Week, delivering Aviation Week’s 2027 Fleet and MRO Forecast at the RAI Amsterdam
In a recap of "What happened since MRO Europe 2025?" Williams looked back at the global events of 2026 and spoke to how factors such as regional conflicts and tariffs have impacted the global MRO landscape.
Fireside chat: OEM keynote
Aviation Week's Lee Ann Shay (left) with Chris Raymond, Vice President of The Boeing Company and President and Chief Executive Officer of Boeing Global Services for the Fireside OEM Chat at MRO Europe 2026 at the RAI Amsterdam
In conversation with Aviation Week's Lee Ann Shay, Chris Raymond, Vice President of The Boeing Company and President and Chief Executive Officer of Boeing Global Services discussed how aftermarket support is evolving in the region, with a particular focus on forecasting and the changing landscape of aerospace services.
"We're trying to improve produce-ability, get more capacity, and see where we can get more throughput," says Raymond on the topic of workforce and supply chain.
He adds that Boeing is also making significant investments in data relationships with its customers to support the supply and demand on both sides.
"If we trust each other enough to share that data, we can be a better supplier," he explains. As a result, airline customers are likely to see an increase in parts availability.
Panel discussion: "Beyond the hangar"
"Beyond the hangar: How MRO is taking flight in Europe toward strategic sovereignty" panel on the first day of MRO Europe 2026 at the RAI Amsterdam
Following a short networking break, attendees returned to the conference hall for the session "Beyond the hangar: How MRO is taking flight in Europe toward strategic sovereignty."
The session, moderated by Aviation Week's James Pozzi, sees David Doyle, VP Corporate Strategy, Lufthansa Technik; Klaus-Peter Leinauer, SVP Corporate Sales for EMEA, HAECO; and Peter van Helden, SVP Component Product, Air France Industries KLM Engineering and Maintenance, examine the European aviation MRO shift from post-pandemic recovery to a period of high demand that took place this past year.
"The European airline industry is in a pretty good place," says Doyle, emphasizing that the European MRO industry is a net exporter, with more export than demand.
Speaking on global events that have impacted the MRO industry in 2026, including U.S. tariffs and the Middle East conflict, Pozzi asks how these barriers are changing the ways companies source materials and support customers.
"We are having to create special U.S. pools to serve our U.S. customers," explains Lufthansa Technik's Doyle of navigating trade barriers. "We are making very specific, U.S. customer focused decisions."
He says this is shaping a philosophy change whereby sometimes parts are being replaced rather than repaired, given these challenges.
Lunch and networking break
Chicken Tagine was one of the lunch stations for MRO Europe 2026 conference attendees today at RAI Amsterdam
The morning's panels gave attendees plenty to discuss and think about as they enjoyed a lunch and networking break in the lobby outside the Amtrium. The catered lunch featured delicious options including North Sea Fish and Chicken Tagine along with a selection of pastries.
Panel discussion - "The workforce landscape: Talent evolution and retention"
The panel "The workforce landscape: Talent evolution and retention" at RAI Amsterdam on the first day of MRO Europe 2026
The first session of the afternoon brought together panelists Kerri Kunkel, Business Analytics Manager, BAE Systems Electronic Systems, Controls and Avionics Solutions; Kenan Şahan, SVP of Human Resources, Turkish Technic; Sorush Satar, Technical Product Manager, Lufthansa Technical Training; and Henri Werij, Dean of the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering, TU Delft for a discussion on the current state of the MRO workforce landscape.
Lindsay Bjerregaard, Managing Editor MRO, Aviation Week, moderated the talk on the
required skillset of today's aviation maintenance technicians. Panelists discussed the fundamental workforce differences today compared to previous generations, modern fleets demand digital literacy, regulatory fluency and soft skills alongside technical expertise.
Werij highlighted the importance of creating visible role models in the MRO industry to attract the next generation to the job. In particular, he noted that in when he became a dean, more than a decade ago, only 10 to 11 percent of the students in the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering at TU Delft were women. Today, that number is up to 24 percent, but he says there is still a long way to go.
"Role models are important and give a proper presentation of what you are doing," says. "If you have a minority, to cross a certain boundary level, such as 30 percent, it makes it hard for newcomers. At TU delft, we are trying to get a quota for female students, which is needed temporarily to [get more women into the industry]."
Panel discussion – "Bytes and bolts toolkit: A smart MRO showcase session"
Following a quick refreshment and network break, attendees gathered for the next panel session of the afternoon, "Bytes and bolts toolkit: A smart MRO showcase session."
Emma Antheaume, Product Owner of Prognos for Aircraft and Prognos Engine, Air France Industries KLM Engineering and Maintenance, opens the session "Bytes and bolts toolkit: A smart MRO showcase session" at MRO Europe 2026 in Amsterdam
The panelists included Emma Antheaume, Product Owner of Prognos for Aircraft and Prognos Engine, Air France Industries KLM Engineering and Maintenance; Margarida Martini, Head of Sales and Account Management EMEA, Digital Tech Ops Ecosystem, Lufthansa Technik; and Samuel Picaud, Head of the Fleet Performance and Maintenance suite, Skywise. This session focused on the digital airworthiness that is becoming standard practice in European MRO. Companies are deploying predictive AI to identify maintenance needs early, advancing from anomaly detection to prognostic analytics, and leveraging additive manufacturing to accelerate repairs and eliminate supplier delays.
"Smart MRO is not built by algorithms alone; it is built by the people who use them," says Antheaume.
Discussion panel – "Lessons for all: Navigating the MRO landscape across business, LCC, leisure, and ACMI aviation"
For the next panel, "Lessons for all: Navigating the MRO landscape across business, LCC, leisure, and ACMI aviation," experts Paul Kinch, Managing Director MRO Services, GAMA Aviation; Oscar Perez Vazquez, Managing Director, Globalia Maintenance; and Frank Stevens, VP Embraer MRO Services - Global, Embraer Services & Support, joined the conversation.
Panelists explored how the diverse realities of the European MRO market's structural supercycle offers critical lessons for the wider sector, and how techniques from LCC, Business Aviation, Charter and ACMI operations can be scaled to strengthen the European mainline MRO landscape.
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