Karnataka - Mysore   

Panel to work for early start of flights

Photo: M.A. Sriram

Debate: The Mysore airport stakeholders meeting on Thursday in the city.

MYSORE: A coordination committee, comprising industrialists, technologists, representatives from chambers of commerce and elected representatives, will be constituted to expedite the commercial operation of flights from Mysore airport.

According to a decision taken at a meeting of stakeholders drawn from various sectors which included companies such as Infosys, Software Paradigm International (SPI), the Department of Tourism, travel consultants, members of the Mysore Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Mysore Industries Association and the Institution of Engineers here on Thursday, the committee would also generate statistics pertaining to air travel undertaken by industry employees and tourists and submit it to private airline operators to exhibit Mysore’s traffic potential.

A.H. Vishwanath, MP, who chaired the meeting, said he would arrange a meeting of the members of the committee with the Chief Minister by the end of the month.

The stakeholders, who were batting for the early operation of flights from Mysore, also mooted the idea of pooling their resources to assure private players a certain level of occupancy to ensure the financial viability of flight operations, at least at the initial stage.

Infosys HRD Head (Mysore) Arun Nayar, who painted a broad perspective of the passenger potential, said that nearly 800 employees of Infosys travelled from Mysore to other destinations every week. In the absence of airport facilities, they were forced to take other modes of transportation to destinations such as Chennai, Hyderabad and Bangalore. If the airport became operational, a majority of them would fly wherever feasible, he said. Each month, around 500 employees fly to other Infosys centres in India and abroad, according to him.

He also said that scores of international clients visited their Bangalore campus, but did not travel to Mysore because of the lack of air connectivity.

However, what was significant was that the number of Infosys employees based out of the Mysore office would increase to about 18,000 in the next few years; the special economic zone (SEZ) also would be expanded, and a majority of employees would prefer to fly to save time, Mr. Nayar added.

This opinion was echoed by SPI vice-president (operations) V. Madhukar, who suggested that the stakeholders pooled their resources to ensure reasonable operational returns for private players in the airline industry. The suggestion was backed by other stakeholders, who analysed the traffic potential and were optimistic about the viability of Mysore airport.

Airports Authority of India general manager (Mysore) Rajiv Gupta said chartered flights during Dasara were a hit, and the AAI used the opportunity to test their navigational equipment which functioned to their full satisfaction. “Though we wrote to various private airline operators, they have not responded positively as they are seeking incentives from the State Government by way of reduction in sales tax on aviation fuel, which is reckoned to be 27 per cent and the highest in the country,” he added.

The AAI has recommended Mysore-Chennai, and Goa-Mysore-Kochi routes from the tourism point of view, Mr. Gupta said.

Travel consultant G.B. Panth pointed out that Kingfisher Airlines and Jet Airways had elicited the opinion of tour operators on passenger potential. While Kingfisher Airlines evinced interest in operating flights from Mysore to Chennai to start with, Jet Airways was keen on flying the Mysore-Delhi route with a stopover in Bangalore, he added. Industrialist and president of the Mysore Chamber of Commerce and Industry R. Krishna said the airport issue would be raised with the Principal Secretary, Tourism, during a preliminary meeting next week in connection with the Mysore Tourism Mart to be conducted by the MCCI in June 2010.

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