New Delhi: A team of the Indian Air Force (IAF) is expected to hold an air show in Odisha, as revealed by an official. The Surya Kiran aerobatics team of the Indian Air Force (IAF) has planned to hold an air show over the Odisha capital of Bhubaneswar airspace on September 16, 2022.
The team will also hold an elaborate air show in the Puri district on September 18, 2022. According to the Surya Kiran 2022-23 calendar of events, cycle I will begin from the state of Odisha, followed by air shows over Guwahati on September 26 and over Chandigarh on October 08, 2022.
The team derives its name from the rays of the sun. The IAF will conduct the air show near the Raj Bhavan in Puri. Though the Air Authority of India (AAI) gave permissions to hold the show in the Puri district, the team is yet to approve the organising of the event in the capital city of Odisha.
The permission has not been granted yet, keeping in mind the Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) operations that will be shut down due to the show in accordance with the programme’s scheduled time. The IAF planned to hold the exhibition over a stretch of the Kathajodi river bed which lies on the outskirts of the Bhubaneswar district. According to officials, the Civil Aviation Ministry has not approved the show yet.
According to an Official, “AAI has not given permission for the programme in Bhubaneswar as it will affect the flight operations under Bhubaneswar airspace. However, the show in Puri will not affect any operations.”
The IAF had conducted an air show in the Cuttack district of Odisha in 2016 to mark the birth centenary of former chief minister Biju Patnaik.
The Surya Kiran aerobatics team was formed under the IAF on May 27, 1996, at the IAF air base in the Bidar district of Karnataka. The team was resurrected in 2017 after being disbanded in the year 2011 due to due to shortage of training aircrafts.
(Avya Mathur)