Flight operations at Shivamogga Airport unlikely from November 21 as StarAir halts bookings

File photo of Shivamogga Airport.

Shivamogga Airport, operational for the past three years, is likely to have no flight operations from November 21.

StarAir, the only airline still operating from the airport, has not opened bookings for flights from November 21 onwards, indicating that it may suspend services. IndiGo and SpiceJet have already stopped operations from the airport, which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2023.

StarAir has been operating flights to Hyderabad, Tirupati and Goa for the past three years. Airport officials said the airline stopped bookings as the three-year subsidy period under the UDAN scheme ends on November 21. However, the officials said, the company has not formally informed the airport whether it will continue or stop operations.

SpiceJet, which operated services to Chennai and Hyderabad, suspended its operations on June 9 this year. Before that, IndiGo withdrew its Shivamogga-Bengaluru service on May 1. If StarAir also suspends its services, the airport will have no flights.

The officials maintained that the lull would be temporary, as a revised UDAN scheme with a five-year term is expected to come into effect early next year.

Karnataka State Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (KSIIDC) chairperson S.G. Nanjayyana Math told The Hindu that there would be no flights from Shivamogga Airport for some time. “All these days, the airlines operated because they got a subsidy. For how long should the subsidy continue? Any subsidy is meant to benefit the poor, but air travellers are rich. Anyhow, we have submitted a proposal to the State government for extending the subsidy,” he said.

Mr. Math also expressed concern that the infrastructure, developed with huge investment and vast tracts of land, would remain unutilised. “The airport has been built by spending ₹450 crore to ₹500 crore on about 700 acres. At the current land price, the total investment would be ₹1,000 crore,” he said.

Meanwhile, the KSIIDC, which oversees the airport, has proposed 13 routes under the revised UDAN scheme. The proposed routes connect Bengaluru to Goa, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Tirupati, Pune, Mysuru, Ahmedabad, Surat, Kolhapur, Kochi, Mangaluru, Hindon and Coimbatore. Officials said the tender process for the new routes is under way.

Published - November 06, 2026 07:21 pm IST