Air travel to and from Mysuru got better with the introduction of an additional flight from the city to Hyderabad under Regional Connectivity Scheme of the Union government.
The latest flight, the second to Hyderabad, is being provided by Indigo Airlines and was flagged off from the city on Sunday. With this, Mysuru has 7 flights a day accounting for 14 movements – to and fro – connecting to Chennai (two flights), Hyderabad (two flights), Kochi, Goa and Bengaluru.
Mysuru MP Pratap Simha flagged off the Indigo flight to Hyderabad which will arrive from that city at 6.40 p.m. and depart at 7.40 p.m. on all days except Tuesdays wherein it will arrive at 1 p.m. and depart at 1.30 p.m. The basic fare is ₹2,650.
R. Manjunath, airport Director, said the pace at which the airport was growing under the RCS UDAN scheme was benefiting the people of the city as also the tourists besides those from the surrounding regions such as Kodagu.
“There is every possibility of another day-time flight to Chennai while talks are under way for a daily flight to Tirupati and Shirdi’’, said Mr. Manjunath. In addition, the city may have services to Belagavi and another flight to Mangaluru.
Stakeholders are buoyant with the developments and there is a slew of demand for connecting Mysuru to other sectors, mainly Coimbatore, Thiruvananthapuram, and Mumbai.
The focus of the authorities is to ensure that the existing sectors stabilise, and airline operators are upbeat over the originating passenger traffic from Mysuru. Almost all the flights have an occupancy rate in excess of 75 per cent to 80 per cent which, by airline parameters, is reckoned to be extremely good.
The flight to Bengaluru has an occupancy rate of about 60 per cent and is mainly used by passengers for connecting flights to other centres.
Representatives of various trade bodies such as Mysore Chamber of Commerce and Industries, and Mysore Industries Association, tour and travel operators etc., aver that direct flight connectivity to major centres will give a fillip to the tourism sector. It will be a big plus to lure investors as they prefer a city with the presence of a functional airport with connectivity to major centres.
