In late November 2020, Berlin hosted what organizers dubbed the “Davos of Aviation” – not in the usual bustling conference halls, but as a hybrid event bridging a live stage and a global online audience.
This was AeroDays 2020, the European Aeronautics Days conference, and it arrived at a critical moment. The COVID-19 pandemic had grounded much of the world’s air traffic and made large gatherings nearly impossible. Yet Europe’s aviation leaders, policymakers, and innovators were determined to press ahead with urgent discussions on the industry’s future. Under the banner “Aviation for the Future – Change is NOW!”, AeroDays 2020 unfolded in Berlin as a hybrid format that combined limited in-person sessions with extensive digital broadcasting. It was the first time this prestigious event (held every four years) took place in Germany, co-hosted by the German government alongside the European Commission. Originally planned for May at Berlin’s ILA air show, the conference was postponed and reimagined for the fall of 2020, adapting boldly to the crisis. What emerged was not only a forum on aviation’s next era, but also a pioneering case study in how to run a large-scale conference during a global disruption.
A Summit of Big Themes in a Time of Crisis
Structured as a two-part program, AeroDays 2020 featured an invitation-only Berlin Aviation Summit on November 24 followed by the open AeroDays Forum on November 25–26. Together these segments brought together top figures from industry, government, and research to chart the way forward for air transport. High-profile speakers included EU Transport Commissioner Adina Vălean, German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier, Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury, the heads of Ethiopian Airlines and MTU Aero Engines, the President of ICAO’s Council, and the Director General of IATA, among others. They converged (some in person, others via video link) to tackle three overarching issues that have defined 21st-century aviation – and that were made even more urgent by the pandemic’s impact. Those key themes were: achieving climate-neutral aviation, steering the industry’s recovery from the COVID-19 crisis, and driving digital transformation as an enabler of innovation.
These themes set the tone for AeroDays 2020’s discussions. How can aviation emerge from an unprecedented slump while also reinventing itself to meet Europe’s green goals? Speakers grappled with this dual challenge, emphasizing that the sector’s survival and its sustainability go hand in hand. “Air transport and the aviation industry have suffered an enormous slump as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic,” noted Thomas Jarzombek, the German federal aerospace coordinator, stressing that the summit must illuminate “ways in which we can guide the industrial core of this key European industry through this crisis.” At the same time, Jarzombek said, the vision beyond the crisis is clear: “we are also looking ahead to the future of emission-free flying,” with Europe poised to be a pioneer of climate-neutral aviation in the coming decades.
EU officials echoed that long-term view. Adina Vălean, the EU’s Transport Commissioner, remarked that “the crisis underlined the need for resilience in our transport system. Investing in the EU’s pre-pandemic priorities of sustainability and digitalisation will strengthen this resilience while making sure that we have a transport system that is competitive and fit for the 21st century.” In other words, even as airlines and manufacturers fought for survival in 2020, the path to future growth lay in green innovation and digital tools – exactly the topics AeroDays was structured to address. The Berlin Aviation Summit’s high-level panels delved into these strategic questions, and those forward-thinking conversations continued in detail during the AeroDays Forum sessions on the following days.
Going Hybrid: A High-Tech Event in Berlin and Online
The choice to make AeroDays 2020 a hybrid event was both a necessity and an innovation. With travel restrictions and social distancing in force, only a small gathering could be held physically in Berlin – in the historic Meistersaal venue – but thousands more would join virtually. Organizers set up a state-of-the-art event live streaming platform to broadcast all keynotes, panels and interviews from the Berlin stage to registered participants around the world. On site, a limited number of speakers and VIP guests took part under strict health measures, speaking at podiums and roundtables that were spaced for safety. Many other speakers who could not travel were beamed in remotely and appeared on large video screens, seamlessly integrated into discussions. Meanwhile, the vast majority of the audience attended online. Interest was high: more than 1,000 participants had registered to take part via the virtual platform, eager to engage in this unique gathering of the aviation community. What could have been a small, closed meeting in a pandemic year thus transformed into a widely accessible conference connecting stakeholders across continents.
The digital tools and platforms deployed for AeroDays 2020 were critical to its success. The virtual conference portal offered much more than a one-way video stream – it was an interactive space designed to replicate many aspects of an in-person event. Remote attendees could watch live keynote addresses and panel debates, and at the same time they were invited to actively participate. Through integrated Q&A chat functions, viewers submitted questions that moderators relayed to the speakers in real time. Live polling and survey features allowed the audience to weigh in on issues during sessions, making the experience more engaging and gauging the sentiment of the community. Networking wasn’t forgotten either: the platform facilitated online meetings and chat connections, so that researchers, engineers, and officials could schedule one-on-one discussions or join virtual coffee breaks to swap ideas – a digital approximation of hallway conversations.
An extensive virtual exhibition hall was another highlight: European aerospace companies, EU-funded research projects, and institutions hosted online exhibit “booths” where they showcased videos, prototypes, and brochures to participants browsing remotely. This gave AeroDays 2020 a trade-show element despite the lack of a physical expo floor. From the stage, moderators frequently reminded online viewers that they could interact: “Please send us your questions” or “Vote now in the poll popping up on your screen.” The result was a truly hybrid experience – a live studio event amplified by a rich digital interface that connected speakers in Berlin with aviation professionals watching from their homes and offices across Europe and beyond.
A Case Study in Crisis-Era Innovation
By the time AeroDays 2020 concluded on November 26, it had demonstrated how a large-scale conference could be pulled off in the midst of a global crisis. In many ways, the event itself became a microcosm of the “twin transformation” that aviation is undergoing: just as the industry seeks to go green and go digital, AeroDays 2020 had to embrace digital transformation to keep advancing the green aviation agenda.
The conference served as a proof of concept for hybrid events. It showed that with the right technology and planning, an international forum could maintain its scope and impact even when most participants cannot travel. Indeed, AeroDays 2020 managed to be both exclusive and inclusive: it was a high-level summit with top decision-makers on stage in Berlin, and at the same time it was open to any interested viewer worldwide via a free online ticket. Organizers noted that the hybrid format allowed far broader outreach than a traditional conference – a silver lining in a difficult year.
Looking back, AeroDays 2020 stands as a case study in event innovation under adversity. The lessons learned in Berlin – from ensuring reliable livestream quality and engaging remote audiences, to juggling interactions between in-person and online speakers – offered valuable insights for future conferences in any sector. As the aviation industry built resilience to survive the pandemic, its flagship European gathering did the same, reinventing itself on the fly.
Aviation for the future was the motto, and AeroDays 2020 not only discussed that future but embodied it by pioneering new ways to connect people. In an era when climate goals, economic recovery, and digital innovation must progress simultaneously, AeroDays 2020 proved that even the format of collaboration can evolve. The event’s hybrid model may well inform how large conferences are run in years to come, blending physical and virtual participation to maximize both impact and inclusivity. AeroDays 2020 will be remembered not just for the ideas shared on its stage, but for how it set a new standard for international scientific and policy forums when change was not merely an agenda item – it was a practical necessity