A fun day out for the family at the world’s biggest arms fair
helicopter view of Farnborough International Airshow
Red Arrows
Farnborough International Airshow is promoted as a fun day out for the family. It is anything but, it is where the Merchants of Death ply their trade. Kids go free. In modern warfare, civilians and especially children, suffer the highest casualties.
Farnborough International Airshow is the world’s biggest arms fair. On trade days you can see how ingenious is man in devising ever better ways to kill his fellow man.
For local residents it is two weeks of hell, two weeks of horrendous noise, one week of blocked roads, illegal parking, criminal damage to grass verges.
As a sop to local residents, FIA2012 offered local residents free tickets, then reneged on their offer.
Farnborough International Airshow is the place to see the latest the world of aviation has to offer.
… we would like to invite you to apply for a pair of complimentary tickets – FIA12
For two weeks Farnborough residents suffer horrendous head-splitting noise as warplanes fly overhead.
For one week roads are sealed off, roads gridlocked. A journey of 10 to 20 minutes takes two hours.
Local residents closest to the airshow are being security checked into and out of their homes, have to provide ID. A foretaste of the London Olympics?
As a sop to local residents they are offered two free tickets per household. The area in which this is being offered is less than the last airshow two years ago (when first introduced) and the tickets are restricted on a first come first served basis (which has now been exceeded).
Local residents have to go to a web address, fill out their post code, how many tickets, in whose name, provide address, e-mail, mobile number (if nothing else a trawling exercise to gather personal information on local residents). Finally an on-line pdf invoice which presumably one prints off and takes to reclaim ones ticket.
A telephone number, 01252 532800, several options, and several tries to get through. Ticket sales say not them, try a different option.
Eventuality a singularly unhelpful female who says you should have picked up the tickets beforehand, you cannot now get in, as all tickets have gone.
You have an invoice, or had, that says you have tickets, they are even in your name.
No, says the woman, you should have picked them up before, did you not read the letter.
The eight numbered bullet points say how to apply, give telephone number if a problem, say pick tickets up from gate B. Nothing about picking up tickets in advance. The rest of the letter two pages of detailed fine print on road closures and diversions, then a third page of maps showing road closures and diversions. The on-line form said nothing about picking up tickets in advance.
Unhelpful female said some had picked up tickets in advance. Pushed for someone to deal with the problem, gave an e-mail of someone who it was claimed was handling complaints re tickets.
There is going to be a lot of very angry local residents on Saturday and Sunday who turn up expecting to get in, and find they are denied access.
The Farnborough Airshow is promoted as a fun day out for the family, kids go free.
It is not, it is an arms fair, dealers in death. In modern warfare, civilians and especially children, suffer the highest casualties.
Tickets on the public days are £41 each! Kids go free.
The public get a raw deal. Many of the stands are empty. They do not see the information on how effective at killing are the goods on display. If they are there for the flying, any local resident will tell them you get a better view from outside.
North Camp Station is offering the tickets cash only at somewhat less than £41 each.
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