Belagavi airport loses out as SpiceJet seeks Udan benefits in Hubballi

BELAGAVI: The Sambra Airport here, which used to be upgraded at a price of Rs 141.44 crore ultimate yr to handle bigger aircrafts like Airbus-320 and were given a bigger terminal with a capability to handle 300 passengers during top hours, will stay a white elephant from July 1.
SpiceJet is going to discontinue the one operational flight from Belagavi airport to Bengaluru from July 1. The airline has already shifted three flights operating from Belagavi to the Hubballi airport to get some great benefits of the Udaan scheme of the central govt. It may also scale back operations of the one flight working from here to half by this month finish. SpiceJet began operating flights to operating Bengaluru and Mumbai from Belagavi and added Chennai to the checklist in September 2017. It additionally had an instantaneous flight to Hyderabad in the month of March this yr. All the flights have been receiving patronage.

SpiceJet’s resolution to shift those flights from Belagavi to Hubballihas stunned Belagavi citizens. With this, 75-year-old airport will turn out to be a white elephant.

Local politicians including MP Suresh Angadi, Rajya Sabha member Prabhakar Kore and individuals of industrial fraternity are engaged in correspondence with authorities of central govt looking for inclusion of Belagavi airport underneath Udaan scheme, which is meant for small airports.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a recent election rally in Belagavi, had confident to incorporate the Belagavi airport underneath the Udaan scheme.

During the inauguration of upgraded airport, then civil aviation minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju had additionally confident of considering the airport for the scheme.

The citizens of Belgavi are puzzled over how the Hubballi airport, which used to be upgraded after the Sambra airport, were given selected underneath the Udaan scheme and are questions the native leaders about it.

Belagavi (South) MLA Abhay Patil has determined to take a delegation to fulfill the high minister and the civil aviation minister in New Delhi with a memorandum containing the signature of 52 MLAs looking for the inclusion of the Belagavi airport underneath Udaan scheme.

The upgraded Belagavi airport incorporates a new terminal construction, operational house with later equipment, a runway which has been extended by 470 metres, a new isolation bay, new apron and a new ATC cum fireplace station cum technical block. The state govt supplied 370 acres of land to the airport for the improve.