Karnataka CM opposes move to shift Aero India out of Bengaluru

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Karnataka Chief Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda has strongly opposed any move to shift ‘Aero India’, a prestigious airshow, out of Bengaluru, asserting that the issue of air space management can be sorted out through proper coordination and planning.

In a letter to Defence Minister A.K. Antony, he said it has come to the notice of the state government that there is a move to shift Aero India, held biennially at Air Force Station, Yelahanka, out of Bengaluru.

"I am told that this has come up because of BIAL (Bangalore International Airport Limited) taking up the issue of Airspace management and because Ministry of Civil Aviation has approached MoD (Ministry of Defence) to consider moving (the) air show to a location where there is greater free space available", he said.

Gowda noted that BIAL runway was closed in April this year for almost 30 days from 10.30 am to 5 pm for maintenance and repair of runway for maintenance and repair of runway.

"Hence, it may not be difficult to close BIAL runway for five days during Aero India show timings, in case of any difficulty in managing air space", the Chief Minister said.

He pointed out that there was a reasonably fixed calendar for conduct of air shows at the global level. Moving to a different location would necessitate change of time of the year due to weather and other constraints and it would be extremely difficult to fit into the existing schedule of global air shows.

World over, these events are accommodated through careful planning and coordination. Even with extensive air traffic these locations are not moved around and become part of the industry eco system – Farnborough, Paris, Moscow, Dubai, Singapore and Zhuhai (China).

"(The) State Government is strongly of the opinion that through proper coordination and planning the issue of air space management can be sorted out", he said.