While Mysuru, the cultural capital of Karnataka and the biggest city next only to the State Capital of Bengaluru is struggling to have a full-fledged Airport, Kannur, a relatively small city in Kerala, has got an International Airport at Mattanur and it will be inaugurated tomorrow (Dec. 9).

Thanks to the proximity of distance between Kannur, Kodagu and Mysuru, the Kannur Airport authorities are targeting flyers from Kodagu, Mysuru, Mangaluru and even Hassan as there is no International Airport in the surroundings, except for Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru. Till now, the regular flyers — especially those going to Gulf countries — from Kodagu, Kasaragod and Mangaluru used to take a flight from either Mangaluru or Kochi Airport or head towards Bengaluru. Now they can easily choose Kannur Airport and fly to destinations including Doha Abu Dhabi, Kuwait, Dammam and Muscat.

The distance between Madikeri and Kannur Airport is just 90 kms and that airport is nearer when compared to the airport in Mysuru which is 130 kms. As of now, Mysuru operates only a small 75-seater ATR aircraft to Chennai and even if the airport starts operating big flights in the near future, for the residents of Madikeri, Kannur is convenient.

To take some of the flights that operate to Gulf countries, people from Kodagu used to travel to Bengaluru that is over 275 kms from Madikeri. Now, they can take flights from Kannur. Similarly for residents of Virajpet, Kannur Airport is just 59 kms. Kodagu has a large population of people travelling to and from Gulf countries and  Kannur Airport will be a boon for them.

Now, will people from Mysuru take international flights from  Kannur Airport instead of going to Bengaluru? The distance from Mysuru to Kempegowda Airport in Bengaluru is over 184 kms while the distance between Mysuru and Kannur Airport is 158 kms — a difference of 26 kms.

Considering the connectivity problem between Mysuru and Kannur, the Kerala State Transport Corporation (KSRTC) is planning to introduce buses that will connect Kannur Airport and a couple of cities from Karnataka including Mysuru. If the connectivity is good and if direct flights are operated to important cities of the world, there might be many takers for Kannur Airport in the future.

For the record, the Bhoomi Puja for Kannur Airport was performed in 2010 and Sept. 2018 was fixed as the completion deadline. The airport works, including the land acquisition were initiated smoothly and the project has met the deadline.

Compare this with the Mysore Airport at Mandakalli. Since the 1960s, Mysureans had been appealing the authorities to upgrade the airport and the airport was finally inaugurated in 2010 with no airline coming forward to operate flights and some airlines operating only flights during Dasara. After much push and pull, only now the airport has a lone daily flight to Chennai and the runway still remains primitive, capable of handling only small planes.

DISTANCE AT A GLANCE

Mysuru to Kempegowda Intl. Airport, Bengaluru                   184       kms

Mysuru to Kannur International Airport                                      158       kms

Madikeri to Kempegowda International Airport                     275       kms

Madikeri to Kannur International Airport                                   90         kms

Madikeri to Mysore Airport                                                              130       kms

Virajpet to Kannur Airport                                                                 59         kms

Buses to ferry passengers from Karnataka too

Offering connectivity to Kannur airport users and staff, the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) has started its service to and from the Kannur International Airport.

In the initial days, the service will be for airport staff.  KSRTC is using a non- AC low floor bus. ”Though services on initial days are to offer transportation for airport staff, we will increase the number of buses and services in proportion to the number of air passengers. Five more buses will be soon added to the fleet. There will be services connecting the airport to major towns in Kannur and neighbouring districts and a few cities in Karnataka including Mysuru,” said District Transport Officer K. Pradeep. The KSRTC is also considering re-routing buses already plying Kannur-Iritty and Thalassery-Iritty via the Airport.