AI, private airlines refuse to take off from Mysore

angalore: All major private airlines, including national carrier Air India, have declined invitations to fly to the newly-built airport in Mysore. Airlines are citing poor passenger load factor as the reason for the reluctance to operate flights to Karnataka’s second-largest city.
This development has also jeopardised the state government’s plans to set up five more small passenger airports with an investment of Rs 1,200 crore.
The Mysore airport is due to be inaugurated on May 15 by Union minister of state for civil aviation Praful Patel. “We are in talks with the leading airlines to start operations from Mysore and are giving sales tax exemption on air turbine fuel to fly out of Mysore,” said a senior official from the Karnataka state infrastructure development department. However, airline officials continue to remain unconvinced about the viability of the project.
The Karnataka government plans to develop airports in each district of the state and has sought private participation to develop this infrastructure. Five airports are coming up at Bellary, Bijapur, Hassan, Shimoga and Gulbarga, all under the public-private partnership (PPP) model. Three private players — Jupiter Group of Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Chennai-based infrastructure player MARG and Hyderabad firm, Maytas — have won the bids to run these airports on a build operate and transfer (BOT) basis.
13/05/10 Sobia Khan/Economic Times

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Categories: Airports May 2010, Jet Airways May 2010, Kingfisher May 2010, NACIL May 2010, New May 2010