Huge boost to Indian aviation

The acclaimed aviation show which started on Wednesday hopes to restore faith in the Indian aviation industry.

Indian Aviation 2014, the biennial civil aviation show, took off with much pageantry on Wednesday at Begumpet Airport. The highly venerated five-day airplane show kick would commence on Sunday. At a time when the whole aviation industry is in a dampened state with Indian carriers expected to notch up combined losses of close to $1.2billion, and after the industry being downgraded by Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for safety regulation, the show aims to restore faith on an impending bright future.

Inaugurating the event, Ajit Singh, Minister for Civil Aviation, said, “India is set to become the third largest aviation market in the world by 2020 after USA and China. About 400 aircraft are currently operating in the country and by 2020 the number is expected to reach 1000 aircraft. This is a huge opportunity for the Maintenance, Repair & Overhaul (MRO) sector. We are focusing on India to emerge as an MRO hub.”

The organisers, Ficci and the Civil Aviation Ministry have made sure that all the bells and whistles which made the right noise were in place. Prominently on display at the show were the Emirates’ Airbus A380, the gargantuan double-decker flight and Air India’s Dreamliner B787.

At the smaller end on display were Beechcraft’s King Air 350ER, C90GTx and a Baron G58, Bombardier’s Challenger 300, Learjet 60 and Global 6000, Gulfstream’s ultra high-speed (and long range) G650, Dassault’s Falcon 7X and 2000LX, the Embraer Legacy 650, Lineage 1000 and Phenom 300 and Piaggio Aero’s P180 Avanti II.

For flying enthusiasts, colourful aerobatics by a team of two British barnstormers became the highlight of the day. Mark Jefferies and Tom Cassells, both multiple time British Champions, together formed the Global Stars aerobatic team and showcased formation, synchronised aerobatics and solo displays. They also tried something unique for the first time in the world which they called as synchronised aerial smoke acts. The show was indeed a treat for the eyes.

The exhibition halls had over 350 exhibitors from around the world. From huge vendors like Rolls Royce, Pratt & Whitney and Honeywell, the event also had many renowned domestic manufacturers.

“This year there would be a special session on helicopters. Seminar on heli-tourism and heli-emergency medical services would be held. Workshops and discussions would be held on the same. A job fair and a counselling session would be held for final year students of aeronautical engineering. Senior students of technical colleges would participate in sessions on careers, counselling, etc. An aviation theatre would also be there at the India Aviation Show which would showcase fiction and non-fiction movies,” informed G Ashok Kumar, joint secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation.

As the first three days of the event are specific to business visitors, day one was organised, in a typical corporate style. Only on Saturday and Sunday the general public would be allowed. What public would rather miss is the eye-candy of the whole event, the Airbus A380.

Visitors were allowed to see static flights, 30-feet away from the barricade. None of the visitors were allowed to board any aircraft.

“The right to allow a business visitor to see the aircraft from inside solely lies with the exhibitor. General visitors will not be allowed to enter any planes on display,” informed Lt. Col. Vivek Kodikal, regional director (trade fairs), FICCI.