Flight operations from Mysore may stop

MYSORE: The Mysore Mandakalli Airport, which was built and developed by the Airports Authority of India at a cost of Rs 82 crore and inaugurated on May 14, 2010,  to meet the prolonged demand of the people, is in trouble as the single flight flying between Mysore and Bangalore daily is likely to stop its services.As of now the flight services are temporarily cancelled till November 18 and there is no information on whether it will continue its services. However, there is no exact reason for the cancellation of the flights.It is said that the passenger traffic is less, particularly for the onward journey from Mysore to Bangalore. Any move to permanently withdraw the services would be a major setback to the Mysore tourism industry and related businesses as the city is emerging as the fastest growing tier-11 city. Kingfisher Airlines, which had started the flight services and had flown full flights during the previous Dasara, had hoped that it would do well in the days to come. The then tourism minister Janardhana Reddy, who saw that five chartered flights operated much before the official inauguration of the airport, had hinted that the government is in touch with Jet Airways and others to start flight operations to Mysore.The then chief minister B S Yeddyurappa, who had inaugurated the terminal building with a capacity of accommodating 200 persons, also announced a subsidy of `25 crore to facilitate flight operations by airlines and had assured to release it immediately. The state government further assured to release Rs 100 crore for acquisition of land for expansion of the airport. The lack of public transport from the airport and the KSRTC’s failure to have a stop at the airport added to passengers’ woes.The air services were also used by corporate giants like Infosys, Wipro, and hotels in Mysore, Kodagu, and resorts at Bandipur and Ooty. Sources, pleading anonymity, confirmed that the flights have been cancelled till November 18, and maintained that they do not have information on whether the flight services will resume.