oldchina
You obviously have not been there for a long time . Everybody is there , and one the main objective is networking and exchanging business cards. The contracts might not be signed during that week but the contacts that led to those contracts will come from places like these. These shows are far, far more that Boeing or Airbus. It is a thousand of other aviation businesses that come up there . A lot of young people find a contact for a future job, or , during the open days , a vocation .
To come back to the cancellation , sad news, but expected.