Daily flights from Mysore may soon be a reality

 Buoyed by the overwhelming response to alternate day flight services from Mysore airport, the authorities at Spicejet are mulling over extending services throughout the week.

C N Manjunath director of Mysore Airport at Mandakalli on Mysore- Nanjangud Road told Deccan Herald that during the next board meeting of Spicejet scheduled on April 1, the representative of the flight operator in Mysore was expected to put forth the proposal of extending the services.

Spicejet that launched commercial operations from January 14 (Sankranti day), is presently offering services on Monday, Wednesday and Friday every week.

The arrival from Bangalore is scheduled at 12.50 pm and departure at 1.30 pm. The occupancy rate is 50 per cent between 35 and 40 seats against the actual capacity of 78 seats. While there is a direct flight between Mysore and Chennai, the timing of arrival at Bangalore is connected to the flights departing to Mumbai and  New Delhi. Plans are on the anvil to connect to Hyderabad flights owing to the feedback from passengers. The response from tourists and techies (Mysore being both tourist and software hub) is encouraging, according to the director.

Of the total occupancy, 25 per cent to 30 per cent is corporate crowd with most people from outside Karnataka working in software companies including IT majors Infosys and Software Paradigm Infotech (SPI).

The tourist crowd too is encouraging with Coorg in Karnataka, Ooty in Tamil Nadu and Wayanad in Kerala on their itinerary. Brisk business is expected during summer.

B S Prashanth a prominent tourist operator said that tourism improved after flight operations were resumed from Mysore. There was a consistent demand for daily flights from different quarters. If it becomes a reality, it may augment the aviation industry and also tourism industry largely, he added.

Kingfisher airlines suspended operations in November 2011 within a year of starting its services.