It was great to be back in Berlin again last week at EATS after a hiatus of a year due to COVID-19 restrictions. The conference is hosted by Halldale each year and split into a flight and cabin stream. It was very well attended and as always, conference chair Jacques Drappier put together an interesting program with different speakers.
Even though MPS made the conscious choice not to have a stand this year, we were well represented. MPS CTO Martijn Niekerk, CCO Erik Jennes and I all attended. With this team, we were able to rekindle old friendships, make new ones and talk business in-person with colleagues, customers and even competitors.
We kicked off the conference with a joined Halldale – EASA ATPG Head of Training meeting. I was able to moderate a table with a great group of training experts from around Europe and the Middle East. We discussed a variety of items including Competency and Evidence Based Training, technology, sustainability, and diversity. It was great to see the passion and expertise from all involved, possibly fueled by over a year of hybrid work. The ATPG Chair, Captain Andy Mitchell, used the feedback from industry of this session in the second keynote on the first day of the conference.
Most business and catching up was done outside the main conference. The exhibition halls were buzzing with enthusiasm and energy! A great sign for things to come. Even though aviation is not out of the woods yet with the worrying numbers of COVID-19 infections, especially within Europe, there is hope for a bright future. The opening of the US borders for fully vaccinated travelers as well as the increasing vaccination rates worldwide is a large step in the right direction.
We are certainly ready for a busy 2022 and plan to make some big announcements before the year is over. Watch this space and we look forward to leading the recovery in our field.
