Huge crowds turn out for Singapore Airshow on first public day

SINGAPORE – Since 2012, aviation enthusiast Rafi Damar has been a visitor to the Singapore Airshow, flying in from Jakarta with his father, who is similarly fascinated by planes.

For the 2024 and 2026 editions, however, the Indonesian logistics executive no longer needed to make the roughly two-hour flight, having moved here for work.

“In all the air shows I’ve been, I’d say this year’s crowd is crazy,” the 28-year-old said on Feb 7,

the first day the event opened to the public.

Despite the huge turnout at Changi Exhibition Centre, Mr Rafi noted that crowd management was “very good”.

He makes it a point to attend the biennial event because it is the only opportunity to see a large collection of different aircraft in South-east Asia.

“Indonesia has no such events like this, and the other major air shows are in Paris or Farnborough in England, which are too far away,” he said.

“There’s Dubai too, but why go all the way there when Singapore and Indonesia are so close by?”

Large crowds thronged the air show on its first public day, braving the morning sun to get up close to the aircraft on display.

Although the event officially opened at 9.30am, the static displays were accessible to the public from 8am. Many arrived early to explore the open grounds, where 32 different aircraft, ranging from commercial to military ones, were stationed.

One of the early birds was Mr Roy Ang and his family of three, who arrived at about 9am.

Attending the event for the first time, Mr Ang and his wife wanted their three-year-old son to see different planes taking to the sky during the aerial display.

Getting to the location was smooth-sailing, the 48-year-old said, with shuttle buses at the Singapore Expo ferrying visitors almost every other minute.

But it would be good if there were more sheltered areas for visitors to rest, said Mr Ang, who works in sales and marketing.

“It’s too hot out here, especially for kids. Our son already lost interest in the planes because it’s so hot.”

When The Straits Times arrived at the Singapore Expo at about 8.30am, there were already more than 100 people making their way through security screenings and waiting for the buses run by public transport operator SBS Transit.

The queue moved constantly, with several buses on standby to receive passengers.

There was barely any wait, said Mr Rawshan Haniffa, 55, who was with his 11-year-old son.

The engineer said his son enjoyed the colourful smoke emitted by the People’s Liberation Army Air Force’s Bayi aerobatics team during the aerial display.

While his son was mesmerised by the colours and maneouvres, Mr Rawshan said he wished the commentary accompanying the aerial display gave more detailed explanations.

“It was a wonderful display, and I think it will be even better if they explained certain things, instead of just talking about the G-force numbers. Personally, I’d like it to be made more relatable,” he said.

Prime Minister Lawrence Wong also made a visit, watching the aerial display before touring the exhibition booths and seeing the aircraft.

While many booths were open to the public, some that operated during the trade days were closed, unmanned and cordoned off.

Tickets for the Singapore Airshow on Feb 7 have already sold out, according to the Sistic ticketing website.

Costing $39 for an adult and $19 for a child aged between three and 12, tickets for the last day on Feb 8 are still available.

The first four days of the biennial event, which runs from Feb 3 to 8, drew

65,000 trade visitors

, with the weekend reserved for the public.

In 2024, more than 60,000 members of the public attended the show.