MRO Europe 2026: The Exhibitor’s Guide to RAI Amsterdam (27 to 29 Oct)

MRO Europe 2026 takes place from 27 to 29 October 2026 at RAI Amsterdam, with the conference on 27 to 28 October and the exhibition floor open on 28 to 29 October. It is the largest aviation aftermarket event in the region, and 2026 marks its return to Amsterdam after the 2025 edition in London. If you plan to exhibit, the single most useful thing to know is this: a custom stand needs roughly four to five months of runway, so the work starts now, not in September.

This guide answers the questions exhibitors actually ask before they commit budget: when and where the show runs, who you will meet there, what a stand costs, how long the build takes, and the rules that catch first-time exhibitors off guard.

MRO Europe 2026 at a glance

• Dates: 27 to 29 October 2026 (conference 27 to 28, exhibition 28 to 29)
• Venue: RAI Amsterdam, The Netherlands
• Organiser: Aviation Week Network (Informa Markets)
• Scale (2025): 11,331 unique attendees, 630 exhibitors, 1,200 airline and lessor buyers, 90 countries
• Audience: Airlines, lessors, OEMs, MRO providers, parts distributors and aviation technology firms
• Best for: Companies selling into the commercial aviation aftermarket and engineering supply chain

When and where is MRO Europe 2026?

MRO Europe 2026 runs across three days at RAI Amsterdam . The senior level conference takes place on 27 and 28 October, and the two-day exhibition is open on 28 and 29 October. The event is organised by Aviation Week Network, part of Informa Markets.

Two timing details matter for exhibitors. First, the exhibition opens on 28 October, which means stand build-up happens in the days before that, against fixed move-in slots set by show management. Second, 2026 is a venue move. The 2025 edition ran at ExCeL London, and the show returns to Amsterdam for 2026, with Amsterdam confirmed for upcoming editions on the organiser’s future dates page. A new floor plan and a new venue mean last year’s stand layout will not simply drop into the same footprint.

RAI Amsterdam sits about 15 minutes from Schiphol Airport and a short metro ride from the city centre, which keeps it accessible for the international buyers who travel in for the show.

Who exhibits and who attends MRO Europe?

MRO Europe pulls the entire airline supply chain into one hall. The 2025 edition recorded 11,331 unique attendees, 630 exhibitors and 1,200 airline and lessor buyers from 90 countries, according to the Aviation Week post-show report . That buyer density is the reason the show works: a large share of the room can sign or influence a purchase order.

On the floor you will find engine and component OEMs, parts distributors, tooling and equipment providers, software platforms and full-service MRO providers. Recognisable names across recent editions include Boeing, Airbus, Rolls-Royce, GE Aerospace, Lufthansa Technik, Safran and Honeywell Aerospace. The visitor mix spans airlines, lessors, OEMs, independent MROs and the technology firms moving into predictive maintenance and digital tooling.

For a supplier, this is a concentrated audience of decision-makers in a sector where relationships are slow to form and worth a great deal once they do. The stand is not decoration. It is the place those conversations start.

How much does a stand at MRO Europe cost?

There is no single public price, because the total depends on two separate things: the floor space you book from the organiser, and the stand you build on it. Aviation Week quotes space rates directly when you enquire through Become an Exhibitor , so treat the figures below as planning estimates rather than a published tariff.

As an industry benchmark, raw exhibition space at major European B2B shows tends to land around EUR 150 to 250 per square metre , and a strong bespoke build typically adds EUR 300 to 600 per square metre once you reach Better Stands quality, with premium and double-deck designs running higher. Furniture, electrics, rigging, graphics, logistics and dismantling sit on top of that.

The options below map the realistic choices against the two numbers exhibitors care about most: how long they take and what they cost.

• Shell scheme (walls, fascia, basics): 6 to 12 sqm, 3 to 6 weeks, roughly EUR 6,000 to 18,000 all-in. Best for first-time exhibitors, tight budgets and testing the show.
• Compact custom: 12 to 18 sqm, 8 to 10 weeks, roughly EUR 18,000 to 40,000 all-in. Best for established suppliers wanting a branded presence.
• Mid-size custom (space only): 18 to 50 sqm, 10 to 14 weeks, roughly EUR 40,000 to 90,000 all-in. Best for suppliers running demos and private meetings.
• Large or double-deck: 50 to 100+ sqm, 14 to 20+ weeks, roughly EUR 90,000 to 250,000+ all-in. Best for OEMs and primes anchoring a zone of the floor.

All-in covers space, design, build, furniture, electrics and basic logistics. It excludes travel, accommodation, staffing and sponsorship. Confirm space rates with the organiser and build cost with your stand partner.

The point is not the exact euro figure. It is the relationship between size, lead time and budget: the bigger and more custom the stand, the earlier you have to start. That is why a June decision is comfortable and a September decision is not.

For the build itself, our exhibition stand design and construction work covers design through to on-site handover, and space booking secures the right position on the floor before the best plots are gone.

How long does a booth build take?

For a custom space-only stand, plan on roughly 12 to 16 weeks from signed brief to show-ready, and start the conversation four to five months before doors open. A shell scheme or modular stand can be turned around in a few weeks, which is why it is the usual fallback for late decisions, though it limits how distinctive you can look.

Three fixed deadlines sit inside that timeline, and missing them is what causes the last-minute panic:

The structural sign-off. Any stand of four metres or more, or any design judged complex, must be approved by a structural engineer appointed by show management, as set out in the MRO Europe exhibitor resource centre . Double-deck stands carry extra approvals and venue fees. This adds weeks, not days.

The insurance proof. Exhibitors must hold property and public liability cover and submit proof at least 30 days before the show opens. That is a hard date, and it tends to surprise teams who have never exhibited at an Informa event.

The Better Stands assessment, covered next.

With MRO Europe opening on 28 October, a build that starts in June clears all three comfortably. A build that starts in September is fighting the calendar.

What stand rules do MRO Europe exhibitors need to know?

The rule most likely to trip you up is the Better Stands programme. Better Stands is an Informa Markets standard, introduced in 2019, that grades every stand Bronze, Silver or Gold based on how much of it is reused rather than thrown away. Aviation Week Network has committed to all raw space stands meeting at least Bronze. Disposable single-use stands, often built from MDF that cannot be recycled, no longer meet the standard.

In practice this means your stand has to be designed for reuse from the start. Shell scheme and modular stands are already certified Gold against the framework, so they pass by default. A custom build has to be engineered with reusable structures and finishes, and auditors check it on site during build-up and dismantle. Building to Better Stands is not only a compliance box. Reusable systems are safer to install, faster to assemble and cheaper across multiple shows, which matters if MRO Europe is one stop on a wider exhibition calendar.

Add the structural and insurance requirements above, and the picture is clear: MRO Europe rewards exhibitors who treat the stand as an engineered project with deadlines, not a last-minute order. A partner who knows the Informa rulebook keeps these requirements off your desk.

How to make your MRO Europe stand generate leads, not just look good

A stand that looks impressive and sells nothing is the most expensive mistake at any trade show. With 1,200 airline and lessor buyers in the building, the job is to convert proximity into pipeline.

Position matters first. Plots near entrances, main aisles and feature areas like the Go Live! Theater see more qualified foot traffic, and the good ones go early, which is the practical argument for booking space well ahead. Layout matters next: open frontage pulls people in, while a private meeting space lets you take a serious buyer off the aisle and into a real conversation.

Then there is what happens after the handshake. Most leads die in the two weeks after a show because nobody logged them properly. Smart lead capture and on-stand analytics fix that, and our exhibition with AI services handle digital lead capture, visitor analytics and multilingual assistants so your team leaves Amsterdam with clean, followed-up data instead of a stack of business cards.

This is the part of exhibiting where experience shows. Orchestra Media has built 76,000 stands across more than 100 countries, including work in aerospace and aviation for clients such as Pratt & Whitney, Rolls Royce and Jetex. You can see the detail in our success stories . For companies exhibiting at several shows a year, the Global Alliance model keeps your brand consistent in Amsterdam, Dubai and Washington under one contract.

Plan your MRO Europe 2026 stand

The exhibitors who do well in Amsterdam are the ones who started early enough to choose their position, build to standard and brief their team properly. With the show opening on 28 October, June is the right time to lock in space and begin design.

If you are exhibiting at MRO Europe 2026, book a free consultation and we will map your stand, your floor position and your lead capture plan in one conversation.