Wings India 2020 flies high despite COVID-19 scare

The Ministry of Civil Aviation, Airports Authority of India (AAI) and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) have jointly organised Wings India 2020, a business exhibition cum air show in Hyderabad.

The biennial event is aimed at showcasing the achievements and aspirations of the Indian aviation sector.

The event also hosts conferences between various company heads. People from different business backgrounds have participated to witness this rare business event cum air show.

Like every other year, this year's air show too has been mesmerising the visitors. While some 700 delegates from across the world participated in the last edition of the event, this year's programme was marred by the spread of the coronavirus.

AAI chairman Arvind Singh apprised people that the show had significantly lost its lustre this year due to the coronavirus outbreak and assured his team would return with a remarkable show in its next edition.

"This is the flagship event of the Ministry of Civil Aviation. Every year we are able to do it in the city of Hyderabad because of the support of the state government. This year, because of the prevailing circumstances, we restricted public gatherings. But in whatever little way, we have tried to showcase it because it will continue to have its position as the largest civil aviation event in Asia," Singh said.

"We will hopefully come back when the circumstances are not like this. We will have a much better show in future at Hyderabad." he added.

In the light of spreading coronavirus, many delegates were advised to reconsider their physical presence at the event and were instead advised to participate through video conferencing.