Karnataka - Mysore   

Mysore airport to start flight operations from October 1

PHOTO: M.A. SRIRAM

Making it viable:The State Government has offered to subsidise operational costs for airlines that operate flights to Mysore.

MYSORE: Commercial operations of flights from the Mysore airport will start from October 1 with Kingfisher Airlines introducing a flight connecting the city with Bangalore and Chennai.

Kingfisher Airlines has introduced Kingfisher Red Service and will fly an ATR plane which is commonly used for short haul flights. The flight schedule as updated on the website of Kingfisher Airlines is as follows: IT2404 will take off from Chennai at 10.35 a.m. and reach Bangalore at 11.30 a.m. It will leave Bangalore at 12 p.m. and reach Mysore at 12.45 p.m.

In the return direction, the flight IT2407 will take off from Mysore at 1.15 p.m. and reach Bangalore at 2 p.m. and take off from Bangalore at 4 p.m. and reach Chennai at 5 p.m.

Modernised

The Airports Authority of India has modernised the airport at an estimated cost of Rs. 82 crore. It was ready for operations in September, 2009, but was officially inaugurated by Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa on May 15, 2010.

However, no airline operators included Mysore in their flight path owing to uncertainty over passenger load. Since the airline industry was recovering from a crisis owing to economic downturn, a few operators were willing to risk introducing flights. However, there was also pressure from the airline operators urging the State Government to reduce the tax on aviation turbine fuel which was reckoned to be around 28 per cent and among the highest in the country.

Subsidy

The State Government on its part offered to subsidise the operational cost and the Chief Minister at the time of inauguration announced Rs. 25 crore as subsidy for flights operating to and from Mysore. The estimate of the subsidy required to make flight operations from Mysore viable was worked out by a delegation of representatives who met the Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation early this year following which the Chief Minister announced the concession.

A travel representative said the services from Mysore could be described as a hopping flight with the city as a catchment area for passengers flying to different destinations and who would have an option to catch connecting flights from Bangalore.

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