Throughout September, airports from across the US, Canada and Europe met up on Wednesday afternoons and tuned in to virtual SWIFT and CAPTG sessions.
The nine niche sessions featured forty-five speakers and covered topical aspects of airfield operations and best practices, as well as a detailed look at airfield pavements courtesy of two CAPTG sessions. So how did the industry react to the first-ever ‘virtual SWIFT’?
According to the 2021 post-event survey, top marks as the average rating from delegates and sponsors was 8 out of 10. The comments made in the survey painted a great picture. Here are a few:
- Great sessions – extremely professional online experience
- Great event. Good idea to spread the virtual sessions over the month of September
- Thank you. Great topics and really enjoyed short sessions and ability to joint CAPTG and SWIFT
- Great conference – an online conference with so much more than a zoom call could ever offer
- AEG did a great job putting on this show. I thought it was as good as a virtual event could be
This virtual SWIFT benefited greatly from industry support, most notably headline sponsor Team Eagle who got behind the endeavour from the outset. According to the post-event sponsor survey, 85% found that SWIFT September had a positive effect on their business objectives.
Content for SWIFT September was curated by the SWIFT and CAPTG. Committee members, who shared their time, expertise and energy to engage speakers to present while Aviation Events Group provided the planning and platforms required to create dynamic, interactive broadcasts, accessible across multiple time zones.
Roy McLeod, Chair of the SWIFT committee summed up in the closing session: ‘It’s been great to be able to drop in on sessions and hear how our communities are coming out of this crisis stronger than ever. It’s an industry that keeps looking beyond the horizon – constantly working to improve working practices, embracing new technologies, and facing the challenge of creating a more sustainable future. These core elements have appeared time and again in both SWIFT and CAPTG presentations over these 5 Wednesdays.’
SWIFT 2022 is scheduled for September and, as a result of feedback from delegates and sponsors, is likely to be a hybrid or blended event (part physical, part virtual). Dates and venue to be announced in November.