EAA reports record-breaking attendance at AirVenture Oshkosh

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EAA reports record-breaking attendance at AirVenture Oshkosh

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By Sky Industry News

Jul 30, 2024

The Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) reported today that last week’s AirVenture Oshkosh event set records for attendance and commercial exhibitors. Continuing to recover from COVID-19 challenges, the weeklong celebration of general aviation has surpassed pre-pandemic numbers.

Jack Pelton, EAA CEO and chairman, said, “This year’s tagline was ‘Inspiring the Future of Aviation’ and AirVenture 2024 certainly did that in countless ways. The mix of innovation, history, excitement, and fun that is a hallmark of Oshkosh was present throughout the grounds and made the event a memorable one, filled with numerous ‘Only at Oshkosh’ moments in the air and on the grounds.”

Overall attendance was approximately 686,000 clicks of the turnstile, besting last year’s record total of 677,000. There were 861 commercial exhibitors on site—a record number. More than 10,000 aircraft flew into Wittman Regional Airport (KOSH) and surrounding overflow airports in east-central Wisconsin. Air traffic at KOSH totaled 16,780 operations over the 11 days surrounding AirVenture—averaging 113 takeoffs and landings per hour during operational hours.

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A total of 2,846 showplanes were parked onsite, including 1,200 vintage aircraft, 975 homebuilts, 337 warbirds, 154 ultralight/light planes, 82 aerobatic aircraft, 65 seaplanes and amphibians, 23 rotorcraft and ten balloons.

More than 15,000 campsites—split between aircraft and drive-in locations—accommodated over 40,000 AirVenture attendees. Close to 6,000 volunteers contributed more than 250,000 hours of work to support the event. EAA social media reached out to 23.9 million people worldwide. Total social media video views increased by 149% from last year to reach a total of 17 million views; this reflects an increase in followers by nearly 45 thousand. Livestreaming and on-demand video output accounted for more than 142 thousand hours of AirVenture coverage.

Looking ahead to AirVenture 2025 planned for July 21-27 next year Pelton stated: “We’ve already received plenty of ideas for next year and a little bit later this summer we’ll begin reviewing what might be possible. Our annual goal is to create a gathering of people and airplanes that is found nowhere else in the world and continue to improve the experience for EAA members and visitors.”