Travelling for me is not only going on a road trip, or taking a flight, bus or train. You can just hop into your backyard and still learn something new about your home city. One such trip was going to an Aero India Show in 2015. That was the year I was living in Bangalore for a project and I was there for about a year and tried to visit as many places as I could.
Aero India is an air show and aviation exhibition organized every alternate year by the Defence Exhibition Organisation, Indian Ministry of Defence. The exhibition had just finished its 10th edition in February of 2017 and it is held in Yelahanka Air Force Station, Bangalore, every time.
The 13th edition of Aero India (2021) is scheduled to be held on Wed, 3 Feb 2021 and end on Sun, 7 Feb 2021.
Also Read: 11 unusual places to Visit in Bangalore
The Indian Air Force station at Yelahanka was quite far from my house in Bengaluru, even though earlier in this article I said travelling isn’t about things like a road trip, it really was quite a road trip! It took us 2 hours to reach the venue, and another 1.5 hours to finally park our car and head towards the exhibition ground. What awaited us was perfectly charming and worth all the wait.
There was an exhibition of aircraft from across the world and flypasts and air formations by amazing pilots. It felt like a celebration of aircraft all around. But my favourite part is displayed in the pictures I took.
How To Reach The Aero India Show
The event is organized in the city of Bangalore, easily reachable by domestic and international flights, and trains and roads from most parts of India.
As mentioned earlier, it always takes place at the Yelahanka Air Force Station. Yelahanka is an area in Bengaluru; while it is a bit far from many other areas of residence in the core city of Bangalore, it is quite close to the airport (19-23 km).
A word of caution, when you are going to this event, try NOT TO take your own vehicle.
Take a cab or bus to reach the venue, as it takes a really long time to park it and then take it out afterwards. Just to give you a real picture, the activity of parking our car and then taking it out took us 4.5 hours. From the parking lot or main entry gate, you can take buses designated to take you to the exhibition area and back.
The second word of caution, is Bangalore is infamous for traffic snarls, depending on which area you are leaving from, plan your departure in advance.
What To Pack For The Event
- A cap and sunscreen to save you from the sun
- Water bottle for hydration
- There are a lot of security checkpoints, so make sure to carry your ID proofs.
- And lots of enthusiasm! You will witness the pure finesse of flying.
How To Book
You can easily book your seats online on the official website of Aero India. As this event takes place in an Air Force station, there will be a lot of information required from visitors for security purposes, so please cooperate.
Overall, have fun and enjoy the spectacular aerial display!
Ticket prices of Aero India: INR 600 per day
Nearest Attractions
- ISKCON Temple
- Visvesvaraya Industrial and Technological Museum
- Bannerghatta National Park
- Wonderla Amusement Park
- Devanahalli Fort
Nearest Accommodations
- MySpace Hotels Air Avenues
- Airport Gateway Hotel
- Tranzotel Bangalore Airport Hotel
- Signature Club Resort
- Jade Lotus Villa
Also Read: 30 exciting weekend road trips to take from Bangalore
FAQs Of Aero India Show
Aero India is an air show and aviation exhibition organized every alternate year in Bengaluru by the Defence Exhibition Organisation, Indian Ministry of Defence.
It is held in Bengaluru, India at the Yelahanka Air Force Station.
There have been 12 editions so far. This year (2020) did not have any editions, as it takes place every alternate year.
The 13th edition of Aero India (2021) is scheduled to be held from Feb 3-7, 2021 in Bengaluru.
