State objects to reported move to shift AeroIndia

July 04, 2012 03:32 am | Updated July 05, 2012 03:22 am IST - BANGALORE:

HUGELY POPULAR SHOW: The Chief Minister said there would be no problem closing the Bengaluru International Airport runway for five days duringthe show. File photo: Sampath Kumar G.P.

HUGELY POPULAR SHOW: The Chief Minister said there would be no problem closing the Bengaluru International Airport runway for five days duringthe show. File photo: Sampath Kumar G.P.

Chief Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda has taken serious exception to the Defence Ministry’s reported move to shift the biennial AeroIndia out of Bangalore and said Karnataka is passionately committed to the show.

In a letter to Defence Minister A.K. Antony, copies of which were released to the media here on Tuesday, Mr. Gowda said: “I am told that this (shifting of venue) has come up because of Bangalore International Airport Ltd. (BIAL) taking up the issue of airspace management and the Civil Aviation Ministry approaching the Defence Ministry with a request to move the venue where there is greater free air space.”

AeroIndia, Mr. Gowda said, has been held in Bangalore since its inception in 1994 as the city has a good environment as well as being the hub of the aerospace industry in Asia. The Indian Air Force has been giving unstinted support to the event, which has grown in size and become a pre-eminent air show.

The Chief Minister, referring to BIAL’s reported unhappiness with unavailability of airspace during the show, said: “I would like to bring to your kind notice that the BIAL runway was closed in April 2012 for almost 30 days from 10.30 a.m. to 5 p.m. for maintenance and repair of runway. Hence, it may not be difficult to close [it again] for 5 days during AeroIndia show in case of any difficulty in managing airspace.”

Moving AeroIndia out of Bangalore would involve change in schedule of calendar and it might not fit in to existing schedule of global air shows. World over, such events are accommodated through careful planning and coordination. Even with extensive air traffic, such locations are not moved around and have become a part of the industry ecosystem, the Chief Minister said.

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