François Chavatte dedicated his life towards advancing the European Business aviation industry. Following his decades-long service to the European Business aviation industry, he was elected as the first Honorary Member of EBAA. Together with Frits Philips, Chavatte co-founded the EBAA in 1977, to later serve as its President and Chairman of the Board

EBAA Chairman Juergen Wiese said: “With the passing of François, we lost one of the two founding fathers of the united European Business aviation industry. I am thankful for learning from his experience, his unwavering support of EBAA and as chairman, I remain dedicated to continuing his legacy”.

Adding to this, EBAA Secretary-General Athar Husain Khan said: “The industry would not be where it is today without his drive, amicability and dreams. Mr Chavatte always kept a keen interest in EBAA and its members, and we remember him with profound respect”.

In 1952, Chavatte started his aviation career in the French air force as a reconnaissance and fighter pilot and continued in Business aviation with IBM where he headed its corporate flight department. During this time, Chavatte paved the way for European Business aviation by leading a visionary flight department that performed many first-of-its-kind innovations. Most notably, Chavatte was the first Business aviation pilot to ever land at Le Bourget airport following a transatlantic flight, sparking the growth of one of Europe’s most prominent Business aviation airports known today. EBAA’s leadership and staff will honour his memory by dedicating the secretariat to continuing the work he loved.

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