Ponte de Sor, August 18th: The Municipality of Ponte de Sor and ACIPS – Associação Comercial e Industrial de Ponte de Sor announce that the Portugal Air Summit will take a pause in 2026, marking the beginning of a new stage in the evolution of the event.

This decision follows a strategic reflection on the evolution of the sector and on the role that the Portugal Air Summit has played since its creation, as well as on the best way to project the brand and the territory into the future.

When it was created in 2017, the Portugal Air Summit was a pioneering event in Portugal. At a time when there were virtually no forums dedicated to aviation, aeronautics, space and, later, defence, Ponte de Sor took the initiative to create a platform for debate, knowledge-sharing and networking that quickly brought together, year after year, almost the entire national critical mass in these sectors, while also attracting growing international participation.

Over its seven editions, the Portugal Air Summit established itself as one of Portugal’s leading platforms dedicated to aviation, aeronautics, space and defence, bringing together more than 300,000 visitors, 948 national and international speakers and 553 exhibiting companies and organisations, while facilitating the generation of more than €290 million in business opportunities.

The event also generated an estimated economic impact of €11.1 million for the territory, around 15,000 overnight stays, more than 2,000 published news stories and a media audience of over 85 million people, making a decisive contribution to promoting Ponte de Sor and consolidating its position as one of the country’s leading aeronautical and aerospace hubs.

For an inland municipality, this was an ambitious challenge, but also a strategic instrument for territorial positioning. The objective was clear: to introduce Ponte de Sor to the sector, demonstrate the municipality’s potential to attract investment, and create the conditions for the development of an ecosystem linked to aviation and aeronautics.
In 2017, few people were aware of the reality that now exists in the territory. Ponte de Sor needed to be put on the map.
That objective was fully achieved.

It is precisely from this reality that a new cycle now begins.

A Changing Context

Over the past few years, Portugal has witnessed significant growth in these sectors, growth to which the Portugal Air Summit also contributed, together with the emergence of several events dedicated, either fully or partially, to the same areas of activity.

Some of these events feature concepts clearly inspired by the path initiated by the Portugal Air Summit and benefit from very different conditions, taking place in major urban centres with incomparable logistical, institutional and financial resources.

This new reality naturally changes the context in which the Portugal Air Summit was created.
Despite the growth of the sector, the national market is showing signs of saturation in the face of the multiplication of initiatives, reducing the opportunity and differentiation that have always characterised our event.
Against this new backdrop, the Municipality of Ponte de Sor and ACIPS believe that this is the right time to take a pause, assess the journey so far and prepare the next stages.

The brand remains alive and will continue to be part of the Municipality’s strategy.
The event will return when holding it once again represents, as it always has, a genuine added value for Ponte de Sor, for the sector and for the country.

The objective is not to repeat a model simply out of tradition or continuity. It is to preserve what made the Portugal Air Summit relevant and, building on that experience, find new ways to create value, differentiation and impact.

The Municipality will continue to play an active role in promoting aviation, aeronautics, space and defence in Portugal.
Throughout this journey, Ponte de Sor has distinguished itself by anticipating trends, creating opportunities and innovating. It was never our ambition to organise an event simply for the sake of tradition or continuity.

We will seek new ways to shape the sector’s agenda, while maintaining the innovative spirit that has always characterised the work developed in Ponte de Sor.
Over the coming months, a range of communication, promotional and territorial valorisation initiatives will be carried out, highlighting the companies established here, the projects under development and the opportunities available.

The objective is to maintain an active and permanent presence alongside the sector’s key stakeholders.
Ponte de Sor will therefore continue to feature on the sector’s agenda through a comprehensive strategy that does not depend exclusively on holding an event.

The suspension of this edition represents an opportunity to prepare for a new stage, keeping alive the spirit that gave rise to the Portugal Air Summit and shaped its journey over recent years.
It is with that same spirit that the next chapter of this story will continue to be written.