Stakeholders in Mysuru demand flights to Kochi, Goa soon

UDAN restores air connectivity between Mysuru and Bengaluru

With the long-awaited air connectivity between Mysuru and Bengaluru being restored under the UDAN scheme, the stakeholders in the travel and tourism industry have sought connectivity to Kochi and Goa at the earliest for boosting tourist footfall.

Alliance Air, a subsidiary of Air India, has come forward to operate the 70-seater flights between Mysuru and Bengaluru five days a week from June 7. There will be no services on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Bengaluru is the second city after Chennai being airlinked with Mysuru under ‘Ude Desh Ka Nagrik’ (UDAN), a regional connectivity acheme. Trujet has been operating flights to Chennai from Mysuru under the scheme since last year and the response to the services is said to be encouraging.

Five cities, including Bengaluru, have been included under UDAN scheme from Mysuru. The other four cities are Belagavi, Goa, Kochi and Hyderabad. Alliance Air was operating flights between Bengaluru and Mysuru a few years ago but the services were stopped for some reasons. Now, the UDAN scheme has restored the services.

Hopeful

Special flights had been operated during Dasara as a tourism promotion drive. Now, with the re-launch of commercial flight operations between the two cities, the stakeholders here are hoping to see an increase in tourist footfall, especially of international travellers, because of the connectivity from Kempegowda International Airport, besidesbusinessmen.

Mysore Travels Association President B.S. Prashanth said tour and travel operators have received information on the flight services to Bengaluru. The flight leaves Bengaluru at 10 a.m. and reaches Mysuru at 11.25 a.m. and the return flight from Mysuru will leave at noon and reach Bengaluru by 1 p.m.

“The ticket has been attractively priced starting from ₹1,499 per person,” he said, adding that the service gives direct connectivity to Mysuru from Bengaluru, which is one of the busiest airports.

Suitable timings

He, however, suggested changing the flight timings. “It will be suitable if the timings were fixed either in the morning or evening, helping the passengers taking early morning and late evening flights to international and domestic destinations from Bengaluru,” Mr. Prashanth felt.

Because of poor patronage, the airlines that were operating flights between Bengaluru and Mysuru had to wind-up services.

The response to the new service is key for sustained operations.

With Goa and Kochi being prominent tourist destinations, attracting a large chunk of international travellers, these two places need to be linked with Mysuru by establishing the air connectivity at the earliest for tourism development, sources in the industry said.

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