BENGALURU:Ride to the Air Display Viewing Area was a breeze through, at least between 7am and 8am, said visitors to the air show.
With appropriate traffic diversions made to Kempegowda International Airport, the drive was smooth but traffic on Ballari Road was held in a gridlock with a few minutes to spare to the Defence Minister’s speech.
K Shareef, a government employee, was at the inauguration. “I have been attending the air show since 2007. The Surya Kiran did the best display in my opinion,” he said, adding that the logistics could have been better at the venue. “We saw people shuttling from one gate to another, including foreigners. Organisers can do a better job,” he said.
Nimantha Sinha (30) is a homemaker from Yelahanka. Though the terrace of her house is a convenient alternative to the air display viewing area, she chose to attend the inauguration, only to be stopped at the gate as she had a three-year-old son. “I was not aware that anyone under the age of 18 are not allowed. Such information could have been more displayed,” she said.
Her husband Shubhanshu Srivastav, an entrepreneur, said, “I found the Tejas, Rafale and F-16 to have the best displays. Though, people are helpful with directions here, better signages would be appreciated at every turn and cross so that we don’t have to ask around.”
Sanchita Mukherjee, who was at the show with her husband, an air defence officer, said, “There should be better coordination between the traffic police and the organisers because it was difficult for people who weren’t in uniform though we had a pass.”