Priority to enhance air connectivity to Mysuru to boost tourism, economic growth, says Yaduveer

Mysuru MP Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar has said that enhancing air connectivity to Mysuru was a top priority and in connection with this, he held a coordination meeting with stakeholders.

Mysuru MP Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar has said that enhancing air connectivity to Mysuru was a top priority and in connection with this, he held a coordination meeting with stakeholders.

Mr. Yaduveer took to X (formerly Twitter) and said, “We discussed the expansion of Mysuru airport and various other issues related to it. Our top priority is to get flights operating from Mysuru airport, enhancing connectivity to our city and boosting economic growth.”

The meeting was held on Saturday and senior officials from the Karnataka Industrial Area Development Authority (KIADB) and Airports Authority of India (AAI) were among those who attended it.

Meanwhile, J.R. Anoop, Director, Mysuru Airport, said that the expansion plan entailing the increase in the length of the runway from 1,740 m to 2,400 m, required around 206 acres of which acquisition of only 43 acres was pending. He said though the land has not yet been handed over by the KIADB to AAI, it is likely that the encumbrance-free land would be transferred to AAI within six months after which the civil works on airport expansion can commence.

Mr. Anoop said a price fixation committee will be constituted in the first week of September and it will determine the amount that needs to be paid to the farmers in lieu of land acquired from them. But before the work can get started there are critical infrastructure issues that need to be addressed for which a detailed plan has also been prepared by the concerned authorities. On completion of the land acquisition process, the irrigation canals that exist and cut through this swathe of land, need to be diverted. High tension (HT) electric lines have to be shifted as also telephone poles, pipes laid for water supply etc.

Meanwhile, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has completed the survey of the additional land required by it for diverting the Mysuru-Nanjangud Highway which bisects the alignment of the proposed runway extension. Apart from land acquisition, the highway alignment and the imperatives of diverting it to skirt the airport, is one of the reasons for the delay in the expansion of Mysuru airport. The cost of creating a detour of the existing highway and land acquisition for the same, is expected to be around ₹510 crore.

At present, only two flights operate out of Mysuru and they connect to Chennai and Hyderabad. Mr. Anoop said their priority is to get the Kochi-Mysuru-Goa flights back in operation first. The flight to Goa was popular and the occupancy rate was above 90% but the services were withdrawn owing to operational reasons by the airlines.