Bucharest International Airshow 2019
Bucharest, 24 August 2019
Moving away from its late July slot to a date in late August in 2019 was the largest airshow in Romania, the Bucharest International Airshow, a large aerial spectacular held just outside downtown Bucharest at the airport of Baneasa. Still, the show managed to keep up its attraction.
2018 saw a significant portion of the flying display filled with foreign military aircraft, but the Romanian air force was severely curtailed following lethal accidents weeks before the show, which meant that two of their popular solo-displays were unable to take to the skies. In 2019, the Romanian air force back at full strength at the show, which meant the show was once again of high interest to both the home crowd and foreign visitors alike.
Perhaps owing to the late date change, the show did not include any foreign military aircraft in the flying display and only very few on the ground in the static. Still, the programme ran for over twelve hours, from 9AM until past 9PM.
Most acts fly twice or even more during the day. Some also have a separate pyrotechnic routine to perform during or after sunset. With the Romanian air force back at full strength, the civilian displays which included quite a few foreign ones, were joined by breathtaking solo displays and mass flypasts by aircraft from the Romanian air force, once again including the Mig-21 and IAR-99, and even the An-32!
Entrance to the show is free. Visitors are advised to come by public transport as the show does not have a parking space for visitors.
One thing that is very noticeable on the showground is that the public comes and goes throughout the day, sometimes just to eat outside the show despite having ample catering available on the showground, at more than very resonable prices, especially for western visitors. As a result, it is difficult to assess how many people visit the event, but it is safe to say it is several tens of thousands of people. These are mostly families and it is striking how very few long lenses can be found on the showground.
As it gets dark, the music volume is turned up as the show turns into a dance party with aircraft, culminating in a rock concert when the flying display ends. This creates an interesting ambiance during the sunset airshow adding to the enjoyment of the single-day event.
With Bucharest so easily reachable from anywhere in Europe and the Romanian air force presenting its full and often rare active inventory, this show should be on any enthusiast’s list in combination with a day in the Romanian capital and some of its museums.
