The discontinuation of several flights from Mysuru has worried the stakeholders in the tourism sector who have sought increasing flight connectivity to various cities, particularly to places where tourism was thriving.
Federation of Organisations and Associations of Mysuru (FOAM), Mysuru on Friday expressed displeasure over the discontinuation of flights from Mysuru airport despite Mysuru being an important city in the State, attracting investments in various fields and the industrial development was happening at a faster pace.
Despite passenger traffic, flights from Mysuru are being withdrawn one after the another, perturbing the people who had been patronising the operations.
Presently, Mysuru is connected only to Chennai and Hyderabad cities while the flights to Kochi, Goa, Bengaluru, Belagavi, and Mangaluru have been suspended by the operators over a period of time.
“We feel that the Mysuru airport is neglected considering the recent discontinuation of flights. The flights to Goa and Kochi were suspended despite being highly patronised. Now, the flights to Chennai by Alliance Air have been withdrawn. If one flight after another suspends operations citing various reasons, the Mysuru airport will become inactive like in the past,” argued B.S. Prashanth, president, FOAM.
The decreasing air connectivity will affect the growth at a stage when Mysuru is making rapid progress. The connectivity to key cities and tourist centres will drive tourism development in Mysuru, he opined.
The FOAM demanded that flights to Goa and Kochi have to be resumed at the earliest. The flights to Shirdi and Tirupati twice a week are the need of the hour as a lot of people from Mysuru travel to these places and more flights can be explored. The flights to Coimbatore can also be considered in view of its potential.
Besides giving a push to pilgrimage, more flights from the city to pilgrimage sites will also attract tourists.
More flights need to be connected to key cities from Mysuru, he said, adding that Goa and Kochi flights helped bring tourists to the city, especially the international tourists and promote wellness tourism.
Recently, Mysuru MP Pratap Simmha had stated that there was demand for Goa, Kochi and other places but most operators mention lack of ATR planes –72 seater planes for short haul flight – which Mysuru airport can handle because of its short runway. The only solution to overcome this uncertainty was to extend the runway, he had argued. The airport expansion has been cleared by the Cabinet and a budgetary allocation of ₹319 crore has also been made of which ₹175 crore has also been released. The expansion project required 240 acres of land and about 160 acres of land had already been acquired.
