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The Hyderabad air show disintegrated into chaos on the second day of the four-day event.
While things began normally on Friday morning with visitors having passes being allowed through the designated gates and even being allowed to visit the chalets, by mid-afternoon the security was tightened with security men seeking ID proof along with badges which had been issued earlier.
There was no explanation from the security team as to why there was a sudden tightening of security. Incidentally the tightening of security procedures coincided with the arrival of Jayant Sinha, Minister of State for Civil Aviation.
The scene was reminiscent of the 2008 Hyderabad air show when the media and others had free access through the day. Suddenly news had come that Robert Vadra was visiting and a curfew was imposed on the movement of the common man at the air show.
This time the chaos continued even in the media room with the waiting media first being told that the Minister of State for Civil Aviation will address the media at 4 pm, the timing of which was later changed to 4.30 pm. A few minutes later news filtered in that the Minister would not be addressing the media after all.
The Hyderabad air show has been a far cry from other international air shows like the one held in Dubai last November. There the organisers had made it clear that visitors had to register online, carry valid photo ID and expect airport like security before being allowed in.
This meant that visitors to the Dubai air show had to empty out their pockets, remove their shoes, laptops, mobile phones and all metallic objects before being cleared by security to enter the air show area.
What a visitor got to see after that was mind boggling — a wide range of aircraft including an Emirates A-380, the world’s largest civilian aircraft, the new offering from Airbus A 350 Extra Widebody and the Boeing 787 and 737 MAX. Besides, every day visitors would strain their necks to catch the breath-taking air acrobatics that a host of aircraft performed over the skies of Dubai airport.
On display
In comparison, in Hyderabad there are only about 15 aircraft on display and none of the Indian carriers exhibited their aircraft. The closest a scheduled Indian carrier gets to being seen is an old Air India Airbus aircraft which is parked on one corner of the airport far away from the general public viewing area.
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