MYSORE: Mysore city is set to fall off the air map of the country again. The sole commercial operator from the city, SpiceJet, is withdrawing operations after Saturday, following which Mysore airport will face redundancy, though it will continue to serve chartered flights.
Officer in charge of Mysore airport C.N. Manjunath told The media that talks with other airlines such as Air Costa had not yielded any results though proposals and details about the facilities at the airport and the air passenger traffic potential of the city were explained. “As on Tuesday, there is no indication from SpiceJet of continuing the services,” said Mr. Manjunath.
SpiceJet operated its penultimate flight from here on Tuesday. Flight service to Mysore is also off the winter schedule released by the airline.
The airline has cited poor load factor as one of the reasons though airport representatives have said that the passenger load from Mysore was high and the 78-seater Bombardier aircraft used to have 40 to 45 outbound passengers from here.
Mysore MP Pratap Simha, who was apprised of the matter, held talks with the airlines and the Union Minister for Civil Aviation, but it had not yielded any results so far, Mr. Manjunath said.
The Mysore airport was upgraded by the Airports Authority of India at an estimated cost of Rs. 82 crore in 2010, but has been served by a solitary airline at any given point. While Kingfisher launched the initial service in October 2010 and folded its operations in November 2011, SpiceJet introduced commercial operations from January 2013. But there have been frequent suspension of operations in recent months.
Air connectivity is high on the agenda of stakeholders such as industrialists, traders, entrepreneurs and those in the tourism and hospitality sector as its absence, according to them, will dampen investment climate.
