Tens of thousands flock Berlin Air Show displays (News Feature)

By Clive Freeman Jun 13, 2010, 15:09 GMT

Berlin - Tens of thousands of people have flocked to the the Berlin Air Show in Germany, which is both a trade fair and air displays over the city's Schoenefeld Airport.

Berlin technician Josef Bachmann and his family visited the show two days running. They were among the nearly 235,000 visitors to the six-day event that included 1,153 exhibitors from 47 nations and drew to a close Sunday.

'It was exciting seeing the Airbus A380 over Berlin, and also the various stunts performed by pilots of smaller planes and curiously- shaped helicopters,' he said as the event drew to a close Sunday.

'I thought my kids would be scared by the sound of low-flying military jets screaming over Berlin, but they loved every minute of the displays.'

The Berlin Air Show, which is held every two years and has moved around Germany during its history, marked its centenary this year. When it was launched as Germany's first air show in 1909, wood and canvas biplane pilots flew aerial stunts over Frankfurt.

Organizers said this year's event set a record with sales of around 16.45 billion dollars, compared to 7.3 billion dollars two years ago.

A mega-deal to sell 32 of the giant Airbus A380 planes to the Dubai-based airline Emirates brought in 14 billion dollars. Airbus said the A380 deal amounted to the 'largest single order ever placed in the history of civil aviation.'

German news magazine, Der Spiegel, quoting a government spokesman as saying Chancellor Angela Merkel's presence at the signing on Tuesday followed an ultimatum from Emirates that she be there because the sale was so important.

Airbus's rival, he main American aerospace company Boeing, which has skipped the Berlin Air Show in the past, had a modest display this year.

'We have sold 67 aircraft here,' said Thomas Enders, head of the German Aerospace Industries Association, which organises the event. The show, he said, was a great success for Airbus.

Other airlines placing orders during the event included Brazilian airline TAM (2.3 billion dollars), Finnair of Finland (485 million dollars) and Germany's Germania (372 million dollars).

Europe's aerospace giant, EADS and Swiss aerospace firm, RUAG sealed 'cooperative agreements' worth more than 1.15 billion dollars.

The head of the German Aerospace Industries Association, which organises the show, said the berlin air

Thomas Enders, president of the German Aerospace Industries Association (BDU)and chief executive of Airbus, spoke of the Berlin show being a great success for Airbus.

The first appearance of the long-delayed Airbus A400M military transport plane being developed for seven European countries was a highlight of the 2010 show.

Some 130 foreign delegations arrived in Berlin within 48 hours of the opening, while 70,000 business people attended the event that opened to the general public on the last three days.