Attendee how-to guide
Three days. The right people, the right place.
Aviation Connect tells the event what you're here for, then puts the right meetings, sessions and booths in front of you. It runs in your browser — nothing to download. Set it up as soon as your link arrives, so everything is ready before you travel.
Getting access to the portal
Your access is personal to you and arrives roughly a month before the event. There's no app to install — it opens in whatever browser you already use.
Open your personal link
It's tied to your registration, so it works for you and nobody else. Don't forward it to a colleague — theirs is separate, and sharing yours crosses your meetings with theirs.
Can't find it?
Message the Aviation Festival WhatsApp with “Send my personal link to Aviation Connect”, or check your inbox for the access email. Still stuck after that, email megan.crowe@terrapinn.com and we'll re-send it.
Find My Badge
Your QR code lives under My Badge. You'll need it in a couple of places: to get into the venue, and whenever an exhibitor scans you at a booth.
Your badge (QR code) is your access to the event
Under My Badge. Show it at the entrance to get in, and at any booth where an exhibitor wants to scan you.
- 1
Use your phone, not a laptop
You'll be showing this at the entrance and across a booth counter. Keep it to your own phone — your badge is personal to you and shouldn't be forwarded on.
- 2
It's how exhibitors capture you
When an exhibitor scans your badge, they get your details as a lead.
- 3
Verified means you're registered
The green tag confirms the badge is live. No tag, or no badge at all, means something is wrong with your registration — contact the event team before you travel and they'll sort it.
If something does not look right
- Your link has expired or errors
- Request a fresh one via WhatsApp or the access email — links are per-person and can be re-sent.
- The portal won't load
- Refresh the browser, or close the tab and reopen your link.
- You can't find your badge
- It is under My Badge in the navigation — left side on desktop, the QR button in the bottom bar on mobile.
- Nothing to install
- Aviation Connect is a web app rather than something to download from an app store.
Tell it what you're here for
The prompt across the top of your home page — Tell us what you're here for — is the single highest-value thing on the platform. Everything downstream is built from your answer.
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1
Answer it properly, once
Say what you're actually trying to do at the event, in your own words. Not your job title — your objective.
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2
Be specific, not polished
“Looking for a new revenue management system for a 40-aircraft fleet” produces sharper matches than “interested in aviation technology”. Constraints help: fleet size, region, budget stage, timeline.
A couple of minutes here goes a long way. Vague input tends to produce generic matches, so it's worth being specific.
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3
Come back and change it
If your priorities shift — or the matches aren't landing — update your answer. The recommendations follow it.
The “Tell us what you’re here for” prompt, top of the home page.
Your home page
One screen that answers “what am I doing today, and who am I meeting?” Everything else in the platform is a deeper version of something here.
What's on it
Six blocks. The first two want something from you; the rest are suggestions you can act on whenever you’re ready.
- A
Tell us what you're here for
The prompt at the top. Everything below it is built from your answer — section 2 covers what to write.
- B
Pending Connections
People who want to swap contact details. Accept shares yours and theirs; Decline doesn't. A contact swap, not a meeting.
- C
Upcoming Meetings
Confirmed, with date, time and table number already assigned. A Peer tag means someone in a similar role to you. View All Meetings opens your full schedule — section 7.
- D
Pending Meetings
Meeting requests waiting on your answer. Different from Pending Connections — these put a slot and a table in your diary.
- E
Agenda Highlights
Sessions picked from your interests, with a For you flag on the strongest. Time and stage on each.
- F
Exhibitors To Visit
Booths worth your time, tagged by what they do, with booth numbers so you can plan a route.
Two cards, two different things. Pending Connections is a contact swap. Pending Meetings books you a table at a set time. They sit next to each other and are easy to mix up — section 4 spells out the difference.
Answer requests without leaving the home page
Both request cards are live, so you can read and answer what’s waiting straight from the home page — then open Matches for the full list and everyone else worth your time.
Accept or decline, in place
Each request shows who it's from, their role and company, and a Pending flag. Accept swaps contact details both ways. Decline shares nothing.
Nothing goes in your diary either way — a connection is contact details, not a meeting.
Answer them the same way
Meeting requests appear here and are answered from the same card. When there are none, it says so — as in this example.
Accepting puts a time and a table in your diary. Unsure about one? Leave it pending rather than declining.
Matches, meetings and connections
Matches is where the concierge puts forward people worth your time. From any card you can do one of two different things — and they are not the same thing at all.
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1
Two tabs: Recommended and Connected
Recommended is the concierge's list, built from what you said in section 2. Connected is everyone you've already matched with.
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2
Search your matches by name
Search matches… sits above the tabs and looks across your recommendations only — not the full attendee list. To search everyone at the event, use Attendees under Explore.
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3
Choose Meet or Connect
Every card offers both. They do different jobs — the panel below spells out which to use when. The › button opens the full profile if you want more information before deciding.
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4
Wait for them to accept
The button becomes Meeting pending or Contact pending. We message the other person to tell them you're interested — you don't need to chase.
Pending is normal, not stuck. Nothing is confirmed by you alone; both sides have to agree. Send the requests early and let them come back to you.
A slot in your diary
Once accepted, the platform books a 15-minute meeting in the Aviation Connect Zone, at a table, at a set time. It appears in your schedule automatically.
Use it when you want a real conversation with an outcome. While you wait, the card reads Meeting pending.
A contact swap
Once accepted, their contact details become available to you and yours to them. No time, no table, nothing in your diary.
Use it when you want to stay in touch but don't need to sit down at the show. While you wait, the card reads Contact pending.
✓ Once they accept
The Connected tab
Everyone who has accepted moves here, and the buttons change to match what you now have with them.
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View Contact
Their details are yours to keep. This is what a Connect request turns into.
- 2
View Meeting
Jumps to the booked meeting — time and table. This is what a Meet request turns into.
- 3
Meet, still offered
Connected to someone but haven't booked time with them? The Meet button is still there. Worth doing for anyone you'd like to sit down with.
If something does not look right
- A card is stuck on pending
- That means the other person has not answered yet. They have been notified; there is nothing further for you to do.
- The matches do not feel relevant
- Go back to the prompt on your home page and sharpen what you are here for — the recommendations follow your answer.
- You can't find someone you know is attending
- Use the search box above the tabs rather than scrolling the recommendations.
- You want both a meeting and their details
- Send both requests. They are independent of each other.
The agenda
Seventy-plus sessions across three days. Agenda is where you cut that down to the handful worth your time — and it holds your booked meetings too.
Five controls, top to bottom
Everything narrows the same list. Start with the day, then cut it down however suits you.
- A
Day 1, 2, 3
Tue 13, Wed 14, Thu 15 October. One day at a time.
- B
Search sessions or speakers
Looking for a particular person on stage, or a topic? Faster than filtering.
- C
All sessions / For you
For you narrows to what the concierge picked from your interests. The same sessions carry a blue For you flag in the full list.
- D
Filters
Cut the programme down by track. Tags on each card — Ground Ops, IROPS, Crew Summit, Customer Experience and the rest — tell you which is which.
- E
The count
74 of 74 sessions tells you how much your filters have actually removed. If it still says 74, nothing is filtering.
Sessions are grouped by start time, so a 09:30 slot with five things in it is a genuine clash — you have to choose. Each card shows the track, the title and who's speaking.
Sessions or meetings, same page
The pair of icons at the top right switches what the Agenda is showing you.
List icon — the session programme, as above. Calendar icon — your booked meetings on a timeline, covered in section 7.
Check both before you plan a day
Your meetings are scheduled for you inside fixed windows. Your sessions are chosen by you, at any time.
Your meetings won't collide with the programme — Aviation Connect Hours sit outside session times, so nothing you book here costs you a session.
If something does not look right
- The list looks unchanged
- Check the count on the right. If it still reads “74 of 74”, no filter has been applied yet.
- You cannot find a session you saw earlier
- It may be on another day. The day tabs reset the list each time.
- For you is empty or thin
- The concierge has little to go on. Sharpen your answer to the prompt on your home page — see section 2.
- Your meetings are not in the list
- They are on the other view. Use the calendar icon in the toggle at the top right.
Explore, and the floorplan
Matches is what the concierge suggests. Explore is for when you already know what you're looking for — 367 exhibitors, every attendee, and a live floorplan of the hall.
Three tabs, one search box
The search bar sits above the tabs and searches whichever one you're on. Start with the tab, then type.
- A
Exhibitors
Every exhibitor at the event, each with a category tag and a booth number. View Details opens the full listing.
- B
Attendees
Search anyone attending by name, company or job title — and send them a connection request without waiting for the concierge to suggest them.
- C
Floorplan
An interactive floorplan of the hall. Pan, zoom, search a booth, get directions to it.
- D
Categories, and the count
Categories narrows the exhibitor list; the badge shows how many you've picked. 112 of 367 exhibitors tells you how much is left — if it reads 367 of 367, nothing is filtering.
Not every exhibitor shows a booth number. Some listings have one and some don't. Where it's missing, use the floorplan or the exhibitor's own listing to find them.
Find anyone, connect from here
Type a partial name — results narrow as you go. Each person shows their role and company, with View Profile for the detail.
You don't have to wait to be matched. Send a connection request straight from the result; the button then reads Request sent until they answer, exactly like Matches.
A live map, not a picture
Booths are labelled by company and the map pans and zooms. The controls give you search, directions and a zoom button.
Doors and facilities are marked too, so it works for finding your way out as well as finding a booth.
If something does not look right
- The list is not narrowing
- Check the count on the right. If it still shows the full 367, no category is selected yet.
- An exhibitor has no booth number
- Not every listing carries one. Search the booth by name on the Floorplan tab instead.
- You cannot find a person
- Try their company rather than their name, and check spelling. Only registered attendees appear.
- The floorplan will not move
- Pan with one finger and pinch to zoom, or use the zoom button at the bottom right.
On the day
Your meetings all happen in one place, inside fixed windows, in fifteen-minute blocks. Know the windows and the rest looks after itself.
The next few, at a glance
Upcoming Meetings on your home page shows who you're meeting, when, and which table. That's usually all you need between sessions.
It's only a preview. View All Meetings opens the full schedule.
Every meeting, day by day
Opens under Agenda as a timeline. Switch between Day 1, Day 2 and Day 3 — each day is a separate tab, so check all three.
Empty stretches are labelled, so a quiet afternoon reads as free time rather than a loading error.
Aviation Connect Hours
All meetings happen in the Aviation Connect Zone, and only inside these windows. Nothing gets booked outside them.
| Show day | Meeting windows |
|---|---|
| Day 1Tue 13 Oct | 10:45 – 11:5014:50 – 15:55 |
| Day 2Wed 14 Oct | 11:30 – 12:3514:35 – 15:35 |
| Day 3Thu 15 Oct | 10:45 – 12:00 |
Two windows a day, then one on the last day. Your meetings are scheduled inside these and nowhere else — so if you are planning a lunch or a booth visit, plan it around them.
How a meeting runs
Speed-dating format. It moves quickly.- 15 min
Fifteen minutes, back to back
No overrun — the next pair needs your table. Say what you're after in the first minute.
- Arrive early
Find your table before the slot starts
Your table number is on the meeting. Walk over during the previous session, not when your meeting begins.
- Free
Nothing to arrange yourself
Once a meeting is accepted, the platform picks the time and books the table. You never choose a slot.
If something does not look right
- A day looks empty
- Nothing is booked for that day yet. Meetings spread across all three — check the other days.
- You can't find your table
- Tables are numbered inside the Aviation Connect Zone. Ask any member of the event team on the floor.
- Two meetings look close together
- That is the format, not a clash. Slots run back to back in 15-minute blocks.
- A session looks like it clashes with a meeting
- It shouldn't. Meetings only happen inside the Aviation Connect Hours above, which sit outside the session programme. If you think you have found an overlap, ask any member of the event team on the floor.
The lead up to the event
Four things worth ten minutes of your time. Each one is a problem you won't have in Lisbon.
Open your link
Confirm it works, and save it somewhere you'll find it on your phone.
Answer the prompt
Tell the concierge what you're here for. Everything else follows from it.
Clear your pending list
Accept the meetings worth having. Leave the doubtful ones pending, don't decline.
Note the hours
Meetings only happen in the windows above. Plan the rest of your day around them.