FIDAE, forty-five years creating Unlimited Opportunities. (FIDAE)
The first exhibition was held in 1980 to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the Chilean Air Force
On February 8th, the International Air & Space Fair, FIDAE, celebrated forty-five years of being the most recognized and longest-running Aerospace, Defense, and Security Exhibition in Latin America.
It was on the same day, but in 1980 –following a Resolution of the General Staff and pursuant to an Order issued by the Command-in-Chief of the Chilean Air Force (FACh)– that the first International Air Fair (FIDA) was authorized to be held from March 21 to 30 at the premises of the El Bosque Air Base on the occasion of honoring the fiftieth anniversary of the FACh.
Given the outstanding success achieved, it was decided to hold it biennially, turning 1990 into a year of significant changes. In its sixth edition, the space field was included; thus renaming the event as International Air and Space Fair, FIDAE, which it still bears today.
Such decision heralds the beginning of its consolidation as an aerospace-industry event.
In 1992, FIDAE was relocated to a larger facility: the apron of Los Cerrillos Airport and it remained there until 2004. The growing importance of the Fair made it necessary that, in its fourteenth edition in 2006, it moved to the Air Base located in Pudahuel, in an environment specially designed, planned and built for a world-class event.
One of the features that distinguish FIDAE is the fact of being a cross-sector event since it covers various fields: Commercial-Civil Aviation, Defense, Airport Equipment and Services, Homeland Security, Aircraft Maintenance, and Space Technology. Likewise, the exhibition is considered to be a knowledge and discussion hub for topics of sectorial interest, promoting the aerospace industry with emphasis on the development of technologies and the promotion of talent and innovation.
Forty-five years have passed and the International Air and Space Fair has become a benchmark for Latin America as an effective business platform and gateway to the regional market. Important to mention that it is the first exhibition of its kind to be organized and executed exclusively by an Air Force, which has also contributed to positioning our country’s image in the international community.
