The flight between Hubballi and Mysuru inaugurated on Tuesday has brought the two important cities much closer and shored up connectivity between the north and southern parts of Karnataka.
Apart from giving an impetus to trade and commerce, it is also expected to give a boost to tourism sector in both the regions.
The Indigo flight from Hubballi reached Mysuru at 6.05 p.m. and was accorded a water canon salute on landing and it left with about 21 passengers on board on the return flight at 6.25 p.m. The passenger traffic is expected to increase given the number of people who travel between the two regions on a daily basis.
The confidence for demand also stems from the fact that a private airline had launched flight services between Mysuru-Belagavi and it used to have high occupancy but the services were suspended consequent to issues with the airline.
For commuters, the flight duration between Mysuru and Hubballi being a little over an hour, is not only time saving but eliminates the tedious drudgery of traveling by road for nearly 10 to 12 hours.
Stakeholders representing the travel and tourism sector welcomed the new flight and said this augurs well for the city and improves connectivity not only to Hubballi but other areas of North and Central Karnataka region.
Mr. Jayakumar, president, Mysore Travels Association, said though there are trains and buses the journey of almost 12 hours puts off a lot of tourists visiting Goa who also visit Badami, Pattadakal, Aihole and Hampi.
Now, they can also tag Mysuru and move on to Kochi which is another important destination for which there is flight connection from Mysuru, said Mr. Jayakumar. Besides, the under explored heritage site of Lakkundi is within reach of many domestic tourists from Mysuru and surrounding regions as well, say the stakeholders.
Tourism apart the connectivity is important for trade and commerce and here is dispersal of industries with lot of investors evincing interest in Mysuru, said T.L. Balachandran who is into marketing of polymers and a frequent traveler. The service is a welcome development as it saves time and is convenient and holds potential for growth, said Amith Patil and Kusuma Patil from Belagavi who were among the 21 passengers on the inaugural flight.
Mysuru Airport Director Manjunath said they are also exploring the possibility of reintroducing flights to Belagavi while there was demand for flights to Mangaluru, Tirupati and Shirdi. The Mysuru-Hubballi flight is a non-UDAN flight operating on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
