Understanding aviation economics behind Asia’s largest airshow – Firstpost

India is all set to receive some hundred thousand visitors to Asia’s biggest airshow at Bengaluru from 10 to 14 February 2025. Rightly called “The runway to a billion opportunities”. The last edition, Aero India 2023, was held at the same venue, Air Force Station Yelahanka, Bengaluru, from 13 to 17 February 2023. It had 809 exhibitors, including 98 foreign exhibitors from 27 different countries, and many Indian start-ups and MSMEs. It saw over 700,000 visitors. 53 aircraft showcased India’s air power. Over 250 MoUs/partnerships worth more than Rs 75,000 crore were finalised. Rs 200 crore was pledged at the maiden iDEX Investor Hub (iIH).

Aero India began at Yelahanka in 1996, and this year’s is the 15th iteration of the event. The event is meant to boost Make-in-India and indigenisation “Atmanirbharta” in the aviation sector. It is organised by the Defence Exhibition Organisation, Ministry of Defence. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had inaugurated last year’s event.

Air Shows Evolve

An air show, or air tattoo, is a public event where aircraft and related subsystems are exhibited. It could be a dedicated military or civil aircraft show, or a combination. Air shows include a static display and aerial aerobatic demonstrations. It is held at an airbase where a large area is available for aircraft and equipment parking. The magnitude of the airshow is measured by the size of the exhibit space and the number of exhibitors. The first public international airshow, at which many types of aircraft were displayed and flown, was the Grande Semaine d’Aviation de la Champagne, France, held August 22–29, 1909, in Reims, France. Before World War II, air shows were associated with long-distance air races, often lasting many days and covering thousands of kilometres.

Air Races

The first ‘heavier-than-air’ air race was held on 23 May 1909—the Prix de Lagatinerie, at the Port-Aviation airport south of Paris, France. It meant flying ten 1.2-kilometre laps. The 1909 event at Reims was the first major international flying event. The first Gordon Bennett Trophy was won by Glenn Curtiss. In 1913, the first Schneider Trophy seaplane race was held. After WWI, in October 1919, the US Army Transcontinental Air Race (4,345 km) was flown from Long Island, New York, to San Francisco, California, and back. In 1921, the United States instituted the National Air Meets, which became the National Air Races in 1924. The National Air Races lasted until 1949.

The Aga Khan Race, an air race between England and India, was held in 1930. The race was held to promote aviation in India. The London-Karachi air race was a competition between JRD Tata, Manmohan Singh, and Aspy Engineer. The race involved flying from Karachi to Croydon Airport in England and from England to India. Aspy Engineer won the race, arriving in India before JRD Tata could land in England.

In 1934, the MacRobertson Air Race was flown from England to Australia. The National Championship Air Races were soon moved to the Reno Stead Airport and have been held there every September since 1966. Some other promoters have run pylon racing events across the US and Canada. In 2003, Red Bull created a series called the Red Bull Air Race World Championship, in which competitors flew individually between pairs of pylons while performing prescribed manouvres. In 2019, Red Bull decided not to continue the Red Bull Air Race World Championship.

Flying Circus

In the interwar years, Sir Alan John Cobham, an English aviator, began what came to be known as “Cobham’s Flying Circus”. In 1932 he started these “National Aviation Day” displays. These consisted of a team of up to fourteen aircraft, ranging from single-seater aircraft to modern airliners, and many skilled pilots. It toured the country, calling at hundreds of sites, some of them regular airfields and some just fields cleared for the occasion. These were highly popular, giving thousands of people not only their first sight of an aircraft but in some cases their first experience of flying.

The flying display included formation flights, aerobatics, daring parachute descents, till then-unique upside-down flying, glider aerobatics, wing-walking stunts, and stunts like picking a hanky on the ground with a hook attached to the aircraft wingtip. With the approval of the Air Ministry and the support of the entire aeronautical community, the displays were held over hundreds of towns. These were a source of inspiration for countless pilots in the Second World War.

Major Airshows

Among the bigger airshows are those held at Le Bourget (Paris), Farnborough (UK), Dubai, and Singapore. The other big shows include the MAKS airshow in Moscow, the China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition (Zhuhai), and Aero India (Yelahanka). The largest air show or fly-in by number of participating aircraft is EAA AirVenture Oshkosh, Wisconsin, USA, with approximately 10,000 aircraft participating annually, 650,000 visitors, and 1400 forums, workshops, and presentation sessions.

The Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT) is the world’s largest military air show, held annually in July, usually at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, England, in support of the Royal Air Force Charitable Trust. The show typically attracts a total of 150,000 to 200,000 spectators over the weekend. Airshows in each country are held during the good weather season. The larger airshows also have formation aerobatic teams participating, such as the United States Navy Blue Angels, United States Air Force Thunderbirds, Royal Air Force Red Arrows, Indian Air Force Surya Kiran, and Sarang.

Aircraft Demonstrations

Most countries showcase their latest aircraft capabilities through solo military demos. The display includes demonstrating the aircraft’s short take-off distances, fast climbs, high speeds, ability to make tight turns, display precise control at a large range of speeds, and slow approach speeds. Russian fighters with thrust vectoring may perform the cobra manouvre, while VTOL aircraft such as the Harrier may display vertical capabilities. Some military aircraft might show two aircraft in combat maneuvering.

Major Aircraft Presence in Aero India 2025

The IAF will showcase its aviation power through an impressive flypast during the inaugural function on 10th February. The LCA Mk1A will be flying at an airshow for the first time. Also for the first time ever anywhere, Aero India 2025 will witness the presence of two fifth-generation fighters of Western and Russian make. The Lockheed F-35 Lightening II, and the Russian Sukhoi Su-57 ‘Felon’.

Most contenders of India’s MRFA competition are likely to be there. India’s Su-30 MKI, Rafale, and LCA are likely to make a thrilling display. So will be the ‘Surya Kiran’ formation aerobatics team. The Made-in-India C-295 will be present. After initial doubts, the US Air Force confirms participation in Aero India 2025 and is expected to send two F-16 and two F-35 fighter jets. Though absent at the Republic Day flypast, the Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) Dhruv will be participating in Aero India 2025. The helicopter will be featured in both flying displays and static exhibitions.

Flight and Ground Safety

Since most aircraft are showcasing limits of their performance at low levels, with large human gatherings, flight safety becomes even more important. Each airshow has a flight display director (FDD). FDD formulates the rules for the air display. The no-crossing lines are demarcated and briefed. Display minimum heights are stipulated. The entire display is continuously videographed by multiple cameras. Every morning all the participating aircrew attend a combined briefing on weather and safety aspects and are briefed by the FDD. The FDD can stop any in-flight display if he feels any limit has been, or is likely to be, breached.

Most company stalls are in large temporary exhibition halls. A very large number of visitors come to these halls. There is extensive lighting and air-conditioning in these halls. Many halls have food heating arrangements. Also, a large number of vehicles are parked. There is thus a risk of fire, and appropriate measures are required for safety.

Major Airshow Accidents

While airshows are intended to showcase and encourage aviation and also to provide a fun time for the family, unfortunately, disasters have occurred over the years, creating safety risks for spectators and aviators. During the 2002 Sknyliv Air Show in Ukraine, a Sukhoi Su-27 crashed during an aerobatic manouvre killing 77 people and injuring 543, making it the deadliest air show accident in history.

In August 1988, during an airshow at the United States Ramstein Air Base in West Germany, three aeroplanes from the Italian Air Force display team collided and crashed to the ground. The planes hit the runway and created a fireball that tumbled into the spectators. Three pilots and 67 spectators died from the crash, and close to 500 people had to seek hospital treatment due to the event. A Tupolev TU-144 supersonic airliner disintegrated in the air at the Paris air show in 1973, which resulted in 14 deaths. At the airshow in Bengaluru in 2019, two Surya Kiran jets collided midair during the Aero India rehearsal, killing one pilot. Overall, the safety record is fairly good, and the best professionals are engaged in the air display.

Seminars and Conferences

Many foreign defence delegations come for the airshows. There are defence ministers meetings, air chiefs conclave, and aeronautical scientists from DRDO and HAL make presentations. The Indian Air Force (IAF) and the Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers (SIDM) hold seminars. There are media briefings at a specially set-up media centre. There are interactions between think tanks. Many media partners come out with show dailies covering the briefings and press releases. There are social events such as lunches and dinners. Airshows are one place for all from the aviation community to network and exchange information.

Business Interactions

Airshow is a place for showcasing and marketing aviation-related products. The industry gets to meet senior government and military officials and take them to their stalls to brief them on products. Many delegations that visit the airshow have decision-making powers. Airshows are also used to announce big deals that have earlier been under negotiation. Many Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) are signed. Working-level aviation specialists from the armed forces get exposed to many in the industry.

India’s thrust for Atmanirbharta (self-reliance) is likely to see more industries wanting to set up production facilities in India. Big international aviation companies like Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Dassault Aviation, General Electric, British Aerospace, Airbus, Safran, Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation (UAC), and Russian Helicopters, among others, are already in India and are expanding operations. All of India’s Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs), such as HAL, BDL, and BEL, and aviation-related DRDO labs like ADA, ADE, and CABS, have a major presence.

Major Indian private players and joint ventures like Tata Group, Adani, Bharat Forge, Mahindra Defence Systems, BrahMos Aerospace, Astra Microwave Products Ltd, Taneja Aerospace and Aviation Ltd, Samtel Group, among others. There is a huge presence of drone companies such as Zen Technologies, IdeaForge, Paras Aerospace, NewSpace Research and Technologies, Veda Aeronautics, among others.

Aviation Fest for Students and Public

The airshow is a great fest for aviation enthusiasts, the schoolchildren, and local families who come to the event in large numbers. While the first few days are reserved for professional interactions, the last two days are meant for the public. Airshow is a great occasion to popularise aviation and the many employment opportunities it provides to designers, scientists, technicians, metallurgists, sheet metal workers, technologists, and many others working on or near aircraft. Many aviation colleges give exposure to their students. India excitedly welcomes Aero India 2025.

The writer is former Director General, Centre for Air Power Studies. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost’s views.