
Earlier this year, representatives from the St. Louis Downtown Airport attended one of business aviation’s largest annual events, the 2024 NBAA Schedulers & Dispatchers Conference. Our representatives were among nearly 3,300 attendees who gathered for the 3-day event in Fort Worth, Texas. With participants from 54 different countries, attendees had the unique opportunity to interact with dedicated and visionary individuals with different backgrounds and knowledge about technologies and business practices driving the excitement, safety and sustainability of aviation.
“The passion that characterizes the scheduling and dispatching profession was front and center at this year’s conference, which brought people together to engage in new ways of thinking, empower each other, and come away inspired about the opportunities on the horizon,” said NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen.
This year, the conference focused on educating attendees on the industry’s most pressing issues, from sustainability and workforce challenges to the latest technologies and trends in view for those in the highly specialized scheduling and dispatching profession. Featuring more than 30 education sessions and a host of Professional Development Program courses, the conference had something to benefit everyone. To further conversations, more than 450 companies hosted exhibits to engage and empower attendees working towards a dynamic and promising future.
Keynote speaker retired Col. Merryl Tengesdal, the first and only Black woman to fly the U.S. Air Force’s U-2 spy plane – shared the story of her unique career path and lessons learned along the way. Tengesdal’s inspirational story of growing up with the dream of being an astronaut and her journey to becoming a pilot conveyed the value of preparedness and teamwork when it comes to succeeding in your mission.
“Without that team, the mission’s not going to get done,” Tengesdal said. “It takes a team to make sure the aircraft gets to the destination – it’s because of you. As a scheduler and dispatcher, you guys are the conductors, the maestros.”
During the three-day conference, our team talked with other attendees and future customers to help them understand the unique advantages of flying through KCPS to visit St. Louis.
If you’d like to find out how KCPS can be your safe, convenient and discrete connection to all the St. Louis region offers, visit www.stlouisdowntairport.com or contact Sandra Shore at seshore@nullstlouisdowntownairport.com.