Mysuru: For those who constantly lament about lack of air connectivity from the Mysore Airport, here is some good news. Daily flight operations from Mysuru to Chennai will begin from September this year and there will be two flights. Air Odisha and True Jet have agreed to operate flights from Mysuru to Chennai.

Speaking to Star of Mysore at the Mysore Airport at Mandakalli this morning, Director of Mysore Airport Manoj Kumar Singh said that the operations will begin in September under the first phase of bidding for the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS), known as UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Nagarik), launched by the Narendra Modi Government.

Under RCS, the Central Government has identified 19 airports in the State for development and upgradation. The Ministry of Civil Aviation and the Karnataka Government signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on April 20 to develop these airports with features that include helping the common man fly at affordable rates, promoting tourism and encouraging regional growth, he said.

“There will be two daily flights from Mysuru to Chennai and we have considered this popular route. People can reach Chennai in one hour and by paying Rs. 2,500 per seat. “Bhubaneswar-based Air Odisha will operate the night flight at 9 pm. The 19-seater plane will arrive in Mysuru at 8.45 pm and will leave for Chennai at 9 pm,” Manoj Kumar Singh said.

Hyderabad-based True Jet will operate the 72-seater morning flight and its timings are yet to be decided. “Every day, hundreds of travellers take the Shatabdi Express and other express trains and we are targeting that crowd as they can reach Chennai in one hour. True Jet reaches in one hour but the 19-seater Air Odisha will take one-and-a-half hours to reach Chennai,” he said.

Under the RCS scheme, air operators have bid for operations from Bengaluru to Bellary, Bidar to Bellary and Mysuru to Chennai. “Future plans will be to start operations from Mysuru to Kochi, Hyderabad and Kannur under the UDAN scheme,” he said. “Representatives from the Union government, Airports Authority of India and the flight operating companies have visited the airport and we are set to fly from September,” he said.

Agreements have been signed with Air Odisha and True Jet for three years and operators cannot terminate the contract. “If there is a gap in the revenue or losses, the Union government will fund 80 percent and the States will fund 20 percent to reimburse the losses, he added.

Manoj Kumar Singh said that a refuelling station will be set up at the Mysore Airport and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), a Fortune 500 oil refining, exploration and marketing PSU with a Navratna status, has evinced interest in setting up the refuelling station. “Refuelling station in Mysuru will boost air traffic and increase the popularity of Mysore Airport as both private and public sector airline companies can refuel their planes here,” he said.