Photo above – New FAI Executive Board. L to R: Timo Hyvönen, Agust Gudmundsson, Gillian Rayner, President Greg Principato, Marina Vigorito, Mary Anne Stevens, Igor Erzen, Secretary General Markus Haggeney.
The 118th FAI General Conference was held November19-21, 2024 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with 120 registered participants in attendance. The event, hosted by the Saudi Aviation Club (SAC), saw representation from 55 FAI Members and 14 FAI Commissions.
A significant highlight of the event was the election of Greg Principato as the new FAI President for a two-year mandate.
“FAI is the oldest global air sports organization. It has a rich history – FAI history in many ways is the history of flight,” said Principato. “I am so excited and honored to have been chosen to lead FAI as President. There is much to do, and I can’t wait to get started.”
The Conference commenced with the annual FAI Awards Ceremony on Tuesday 19 November, where the prestigious Medals and Diplomas were presented.
Conference Highlights
The full minutes of the Conference will be available at the beginning of 2025.
Elections
Greg Principato of the USA was elected for a two-year mandate.
At the recommendation of the newly elected FAI President and the Royal Aeroclub of the United Kingdom, the FAI General Conference bestowed the title of President of Honor upon David Monks who didn’t stand for re-election.
Six Executive Board members were elected or re-elected.
Composition of the Executive Board after the Conference
President
- Greg Principato, USA, elected
Executive Directors
- Igor Erzen, Slovenia, elected
- Agust Gudmundsson, Iceland, re-elected
- Timo Hyvönen, Finland, elected
- Gillian Rayner, France, elected
- Mary Anne Stevens, Canada, elected
- Marina Vigorito, Italy, re-elected
Secretary General
- Markus Haggeney, Germany (non-voting member)
Budget
- The 2025 Budget was approved by the Conference.
Membership
New FAI members welcomed (Active, class 10):
- Botswana – Parachute Association of Botswana
- Morocco – Royal Moroccan Federation of Light and Sports Aviation
- Montenegro – Aeronautical Sports Federation of Montenegro
- Oman – Oman Air Sports Committee
Temporary membership for 2025 granted for:
- Cambodia – Cambodian Airsport Federation (new)
- Laos – Lao Airsports Club
- Paraguay – Paraguayan Parachutists Association
Companions of Honor
- Jacques Berlo, Belgium
- David Hempleman-Adams, United Kingdom
- Eric Mozer, USA
Future General Conferences
- Bid from Finland to host the 119th General Conference 2026 (Vantaa, Finland, 22-24 October 2025) approved
- Bids are open for the 120th General Conference 2026
