The Covilhã Airshow 2026, organized by UBI Aeronautical Engineering students, returns the house on May 17th.
Organized by AEROUBI & AS Covilhã – founded in 1993, the begins with the National Aeronautics Meeting (ENA), which includes a set of lectures (Jornadas Aeronáuticas da Covilhã), an Opportunities Fair taking place in parallelwhere the main companies in the sector are located, the university itself and other educational establishments that teach courses in the area of aeronautics.
These activities are complemented by aerial acrobatics and at Covilhã Airshow 2026 it will be highlighted Camilo Benitothe Spanish Acrobatic Flying Champion.
Commanders Luís Garção, Hélder Guerreiro and Pedro Cunha are also confirmed, as well as the Ghost Patrol.
Tomás Silva, president of AEROUBI, highlighted that this edition “breaks with traditional molds, because the air festival abandons isolated airfields and takes the planes and aerobatics to the heart of the city”.
Between 1996 and 2019, it was organized “entirely by university students”, a feat that has no parallel, at least that the organization knows of, in the world.
It only stopped between 2020 and 2022, due to the pandemic.
In 2011, when the Covilhã airfield was deactivated and demolished to house the PT Covilhã Data Center, the festival moved to Castelo Branco airfield.
The main objective of the organization, according to Tomás Silva, continues to be “bringing Aeronautics students closer to the sector’s business fabric, in order to better prepare them for future projects.”
This year, students have the partnership with the Municipality of Covilhãwith the ambition of “elevate the Air Festival to a new level, also bringing it closer to the community”.
In addition to the spectacle in the sky, the venue will feature a technology hub, flight simulators and short conversations about the future of mobility and aviation safety.
The return next year to the Beiras Airshow is unknown.
“We don’t have any protocol with Castelo Branco. We have immense respect for the entity that is the Castelo Branco City Council, but it all depends on how the Covilhã Airshow will be. If it is a catapult for what could be the return of aviation to Covilhã, it will be to continue here”, said Tomás Silva.
In addition to corporate and institutional exhibitors, at the Covilhã Sports Complex there will also be a food court, model aircraft activities, an Unmanned Aircraft exhibition (UAS/Drones), a subject that is also part of the course, as well as the development of ‘rockets’.
As Covilhã does not have an aerodrome, the aircraft will carry out air operations, whether taking off or landing, as well as refueling, at the neighboring airfields of Castelo Branco or Viseuwhich was agreed with the National Civil Aviation Authority (ANAC), officially the biggest sponsor of the event.
