Flight services to Bengaluru is hit, as people prefer the Bengaluru-Mysuru express highway and trains, for travelling between the two cities, 140 km apart.
Regular travellers, between the two cities, are happy with their drive on the road and claim that they are able to cover the distance between the Ring Road junction on Bengaluru-Mysuru highway on the outskirts of Mysuru, up to Kengeri, in 70 minutes. Some claim that they cover this 117 km stretch in just 60 minutes.
It has to be noted that the frequency of trains, between Bengaluru and Mysuru, is one of the highest in the entire nation, at 33, including the recent addition of Vande Bharat Express.
Mysuru Airport Director R Manjunatha said, “There has been no Mysuru-Bengaluru flight since November 2022. Considering the short distance between Mysuru and Bengaluru and the distances and traffic bottlenecks between Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) at Devanahalli and places in Bengaluru city and surroundings, flights are not advisable between the two cities.
However, it was necessary earlier, when there were no direct flights to various destinations. It helped the passengers to catch connecting flights, without going out of the KIA. Now, we have a few direct flights”.
The airport director said, “At present, Mysuru Airport handles flights to five destinations — Hyderabad (daily two), Chennai (daily two), Goa (daily one), Hubballi (weekly two) and Sindhudurg in Maharashtra (weekly two). More flights would be introduced once the works on the expansion of the runway of the airport is completed”.
Airport officials admitted that the demand for Mysuru-Bengaluru flights is unlikely, as many travellers would prefer the Mysuru-Bengaluru Expressway or trains like Wadiyar Express, Shatabdi and Vande Bharat Express to reach Bengaluru.
“From Mysuru city, one needs a lot of time to reach Mysuru Airport at Mandakalli on Nanjangud Road, to take a flight to Bengaluru. By the time we take to reach the Airport from Mysuru city, we can reach as far as Maddur by the Expressway or by a train. Even after landing at KIA at Devanahalli, we need another hour or more to reach our destination in Bengaluru city. Thus we have not been using flights to Bengaluru since last year. However, we use both Chennai and Hyderabad flights,” said J Deepak, a businessman.
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