Staying 17km away from the Aero India venue, a group of fifteen German pilots got caught in the notorious Bengaluru traffic. First-time visitors to the city, faced a foreign challenge of being stuck in traffic for more than two hours. This costed the team their inaugural ceremony of Aero India 2025 at the Yelahanka Air Force Station on February 10. The inaugural performance included aircraft performances and address from Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.
The pilots arrived in an A330 passenger plane into the city. Taking a private cab for the venue, they left at 8 am and reached well after 11 am, according to Deccan Herald reports. There were massive traffic restrictions on road as well as air for a seamless experience of Aero India. Ironically, the German pilots became yet another consequence of the infamous Bengaluru traffic.
“The traffic flow was smooth till we reached the venue, but at the entry point we were just stuck for almost one-and-a-half hours,” said a German pilot wishing to remain anonymous. “Just yesterday, our local guide and I were discussing the city’s infrastructure, and today we experienced it first-hand,” he jokingly said.
Meanwhile, a well-placed officer told DH that the German team clearly missed the arrangements they made. The traffic police had created a contraflow lane for the smooth movement of delegates’ vehicles. The lane was solely created for delegates’ convenience, according to the officer.
To manage any inconvenience to the general public, The Bengaluru Traffic Police have recommended those travelling to the airport to plan ahead and issued a traffic advisory to manage the ongoing Aero Show. As a consequence of the restrictions, cars were struck in traffic for several kilometers. Due to air restrictions, many flights experienced a delay in schedule and thus, travellers were advised to check the flight status as well.
He also emphasised the fact that the general public was overall cooperative and the flow of traffic was managed rather well this year. Even though, towards the end of the day, viewers crowded their cars at the Hunsamaranahalli tank bund causing traffic problems for a short period as it was later cleared out.