KSIIDC chairperson calls for debate on necessity of airports in small cities, says Shivamogga Airport has good potential

Compared to other airports like Hassan and Raichur, Shivamogga Airport has potential, says KSIIDC chairman | Photo Credit: S.K. Dinesh

S.G. Nanjayyana Math, chairperson of the Karnataka State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (KSIIDC), has expressed doubts over the functioning of airports in smaller cities, saying they were built on hasty decisions by the governments in power.

Responding to a question at a press conference in Shivamogga on Thursday, Mr. Math said that among the recent airports built in recent years, only Shivamogga Airport had operated continuously. “The people in power then took decisions to build airports in smaller cities for various reasons. Their decisions were hasty and they did not bother to verify if the airports were really required,” he said.

Later, speaking to The Hindu, Mr. Math questioned the viability of the airports coming up in Raichur and Hassan. “Those in power took the decision to have an airport in Raichur and floated the tender. Land has been acquired by spending a huge sum of money. Who will travel by air from Raichur once the project is complete? Are there any big industries in the place?” he asked.

KSIIDC chairperson S.G. Nanajayyana Math addressing reporters in Shivamogga on Thursday. | Photo Credit: S.K. Dinesh

He also questioned the need for an airport in Hassan. “People can reach Bengaluru from Hassan within two-and-a-half hours by car. Who will go for air travel? I am not opposed to airports in these cities, but I wish there would be a debate on the projects coming up in such cities. We need to be judicious while spending the common man’s money,” he said.

Compared to those airports, Mr. Math said the Shivamogga Airport had potential. “There is too much potential in Shivamogga, given its location, areca cultivation and tourism sector, and there are people who will travel from Shivamogga to Mumbai and other big cities. However, at present the airport is facing problems,” he said.

With the three-year period for operating flights under the UDAN scheme ending, there would be no flight operations from November 21, and the airport would remain idle for at least the next three months. “There are about 80 employees. They continue to remain there. Every month we will be spending about ₹95 lakh on their salaries,” he said.

Mr. Math said the State government and the corporation were making efforts to resume flight operations. They were in talks with airline companies to operate the Bengaluru-Shivamogga route, which had earlier seen good patronage. He expressed hope that the situation would improve in the coming days.

He said he had also spoken to Shivamogga MP B.Y. Raghavendra on the issue. “Mr. Raghavendra, who represents Shivamogga in Parliament, is an influential person and his party is in power at the Centre. I have written to him, spoken to him over phone and also met him personally at a private programme on the issue. The State government has proposed 13 routes under the revised UDAN scheme,” he said.

Letter

R. Vishal, secretary, Infrastructure Development Department, has written to the Airports Authority of India seeking special consideration for 13 routes under the modified RCS-UDAN.

In his letter, Mr. Vishal said that at present, only Star Air operates from Shivamogga, to Tirupati, Hyderabad and Goa, under Viability Gap Funding (VGF) support from earlier UDAN phases. The airline has proposed to discontinue these services from November 21, 2026, when VGF support ends. Once that happens, the airport will “effectively transition into an underserved airport” with no scheduled operations.

The airport, handled by KSIIDC, was built by the Government of Karnataka at a cost of about ₹583 crore. It was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in February 2023, and flight operations began in August 2023. IndiGo, which operated the Shivamogga-Bengaluru route, stopped its services on May 1 this year, citing operational constraints. SpiceJet, which flew to Chennai and Hyderabad, suspended its services from June 9.

Published - November 12, 2026 07:58 pm IST