The fourth edition of the Hyderabad Aviation Show turned out to be a major dampener for the citizens with only eight aircrafts on display and almost a quarter of stalls missing. The show was thrown open to the general public on Saturday and what followed was an impressive turnout of more than 8,000 people.
However, people were seen leaving the venue within an hour failing to find anything impressive.
“I have shelled out almost Rs.1,000 on tickets to bring my family members here. Instead of coming here, I should have just gone to Shamshabad Airport. I could have spotted more aircrafts there and that too a variety of them. The concerned authorities should have ended the show after the business days, if they did not care for the public,” said D. Ashwin Kumar, a Central government employee .
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When visitors, mainly youngsters and children, tried to get a closer look at the remaining aircraft, they were stopped by the security personnel.
“As an aviation enthusiast, I would have loved to know technical details of the planes. But the barricades are placed so far from the planes that it is tough to even differentiate between them,” said Ghazi, a Palestinian student .
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The unprecedented security, extreme heat and parking issues only made things chaotic.
The visitors were also seen complaining about the lack of basic facilities and expensive food items. “There is no free drinking water provision. I came with my parents who are senior citizens and it was difficult to find any chair for them to sit. While a bottle of cold drink costing Rs.30 is being sold for Rs. 60 then a small plate of noodles is priced at Rs. 120,” said M. Hareesh, a techie.
The saving grace was the aerobatics display by daredevil pilots Mark Jefferies and Tom Cassells. The aerobatics show was performed thrice on Saturday .
Grand finale
Aerobatics will be performed on Sunday by Mark Jefferies and Tom Cassells from the U.K. are scheduled to be held at 11 a.m., 1.30 p.m. and 3.30 p.m. on Sunday. The highlight will be the ‘Synchronised Smoke Act’ touted to be the first performance of its kind in the world.