The Aero India may not be held in Bengaluru’s Yelahanka Air Force station in 2019, reported The New Indian Express.
According to sources, the Centre and the Defence Ministry, are in the process of shifting the event to a new venue — Bakshi Ka Talab Air Force Station in Lucknow.
This is the 12th edition of the military and commercial air show.
Aero India is a biennial air show and aviation exhibition held in Bengaluru, India at the Yelahanka Air Force Station. It is organised by the Defence Exhibition Organisation, Ministry of Defence.
Bengaluru has been hosting the Aero India show since 1996.
For years, there have been talks of shifting the event out of Bengaluru. Even Goa was considered.
“It is an apology of an air field. To conduct something on the scale of Aero India is impossible at the suggested venue,” said a senior officer of the Indian Air Force to The New Indian Express.
Karnataka Chief Minister brushed aside the news saying, "I have no information about the event being moved out of Bengaluru to Lucknow. Such reports were in the air in the past too. The show will remain with Bengaluru this time as well.”
Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara had blamed the Centre of attempting to end Bengaluru's dominance in the defence sector.
Some say that space constraint was the main reason to shift Aero India out of Bengaluru.
Back in 2016, an aero show of a much smaller scale was held in Bakshi Ka Talab and it was a challenge to accommodate even 5,000 visitors.
Inadequate infrastructure, security concerns for air show routines and sorties, lack of preparedness at the venue, inadequate basic amenities were a concern in 2016 as well and that was a much smaller air show. adding that the venue may not be ideal, at least on the lines of aviation safety, for something as massive as the Aero India show.Air Force official to The New Indian Express.
(With inputs from The New Indian Express)
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